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Kevin Munroe Directing Dylan Dog Adaptation

by Alex Billington
April 8, 2008
Source: Bloody Disgusting

It seems like Imagi Animation just can't hold onto their directors. First they switched out David Bowers for Colin Brady on AstroBoy, now apparently TMNT's Kevin Munroe has dropped out of Gatchaman, their big sci-fi project. The reason - Munroe will now go on to direct a live action adaptation of Dylan Dog, a Dark Horse Comics series that originated in Italy about a nightmare investigator. Bloody Disgusting also confirms that Superman Returns star Brandon Routh has been officially attached as the lead in the film.

I'm not too familiar with Dylan Dog at all, but it's an Italian comic that was brought to the US via Dark Horse. The comic is about the character Dylan, a penniless nightmare investigator who defies the whole preceding horror tradition with a vein of surrealism and an anti-bourgeois rhetoric. It's been described as "an early, slacker P.I. version of the X-Files." The series is mainly set in London, where the protagonist lives, though he occasionally travels elsewhere. His clothes are one of his defining characteristics: he always dresses the same way, in a red shirt, black jacket, and blue jeans. You can check it out on DarkHorse.com.

Shooting will begin this July in Toronto. Horror company Hyde Park Films is producing. BD apparently has Munroe also listed as the writer, but we can't confirm whether that is 100% accurate, although he did write the script for the TMNT movie, too. Apparently the official title of the movie is Dead of Night, which you can find over at IMDb with some outdated information.

While this isn't anything I'll immediately take an interest in, it sounds like a dark thriller that could turn into something unique. I'm much more interested in seeing how Munroe handles live action, if that is indeed how he's shooting, since he seems like a guy who is best at directing animated movies (e.g. TMNT or Gatchaman). You can read more about his background in our interview last March. In the same vein, it will be interesting to see how Brandon Routh handles a darker horror role after playing Superman.

Filed under Movie News

From around the web:

http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

Wow! Every single person that is on the crew you wrote Alex only tells me one thing: RUN! THIS MOVIE WILL BE F**KING AWFUL!
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Whoa, whoa Ryan. Did you not like TMNT? And what's wrong with Brandon Routh? Kevin Munroe is a VERY cool guy, just not sure he can do live action... but I'll at least wait and see. And Routh, he's not that bad is he?
bltzie

I think TMNT was great! a little too kiddie, but as a turtle fan, it was fun. And I've only seen Brandon Routh in Supe's costume, and no, he didnt screw up Superman. Bryan Singer did... So umm I dont know about this movie, we'll have to wait until we get a glimpse of something...
http://www.moviemake-out.com Gordon

Don't you guys usually mention the TITLE of a movie when you write an article about one? This one's called Dead of Night.
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

Im sorry but I think Brandon Routh is an awful actor and TMNT was absolutely atrocious. I usually have faith in films even with pretty bad cast and crew but this for me seems really really bad. But hey! Prove me wrong!
Curtis

sounds like it could be pretty interesting though im not a fan on Brandon Routh didn't really care for him in superman but well just have to see, lets see what TMNT director can do with live action.
http://stripopeka.com Emir

Comic has some EXCELLENT stories and the main writer (who created the character some 22 years ago or so) Tiziano Sclavi, is a fucking nut job when it comes to writing surreal horror stories - problem is, he won't be writing this. Also, hate the fact that an American is acting a British guy (Routh's acting to the side), or it'll turn out like "Constantine" and they'll just move the whole show to America - which is INSANE - and even more ridiculous for Dylan cos he HATES flying, hates New York and generally hates leaving London.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Ryan, TMNT was not atrocious! I thought we all talked about this when it came out (in my review)? It wasn't amazing, it wasn't Pixar CGI, it wasn't live-action TMNT levels, but it was damn good for a reboot into the TMNT universe! Great fights, fairly good (or at least entertaining) story, overall very enjoyable!
VanWorden

I love Dylan Dog, did you know it's the favourite comic of Umberto Eco? Now, about that movie.. Are you familiar with Dellamorte Dellamore aka Cemetery Man? Written by Tiziano Sclavi, starring Rupert Everett (who is said to have inspired the way Dylan looks). It was basically a Dylan Dog movie, only the character's name was different and it was set in Italy.
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

I don't Alex. I guess on this subject we differ. I like some awful films but I guess I am the lonedog on this one.
Ian Kazimer

Did Mignola illustrate this?
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Yea, Mignola illustrated the US Dark Horse covers (not the original version) and won some awards for it...