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McLovin Will Kick-Ass in Matthew Vaughn's Violent Adaptation!

by Alex Billington
August 15, 2008

We've been waiting for this news to hit ever since we first announced that Mark Millar's violent comic book Kick-Ass was being adapted by Stardust director Matthew Vaughn. Before we get down to the names, you need to be familiar with the story first. Kick-Ass is about a "high school dweeb" who attempts to reinvent himself as a real-world costumed superhero named Kick-Ass but eventually gets his ass kicked! Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin from Superbad, will play a character known as Red Mist - not the main character in the film. Also starring alongside of Mintz-Plasse is Chloe Moretz, who will play a "ferocious, potty-mouthed 11-year-old who chops down crime thugs with a ninja sword." If you're expecting this to be violent, you're right. In fact it was so violent, that all the major Hollywood studios passed on the project and Vaughn was forced to come up with $30 million on his own!

McLovin's character, named Red Mist, is the angry teen son of a mobster who tries to find uncover Kick-Ass' identity. Although Mintz-Plasse and Moretz have been confirmed, the actor who will play the lead character named Dave Lizewski has not been announced yet. Back in June, Mark Millar said that "there's two big names attached," and I'm guessing only one of these is it - since Chloe is not a well-known actress. I'm anxious to know who they chose for the lead, because although these two sound fantastic, it will all depend on the capabilities of that actor. Vaughn is hoping to start shooting sometime this fall, with a $30 million budget as first mentioned. The script for this adaptation was written by Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman. Millar's comic is currently being published by Marvel and is in its third issue.

Back to the issue of the violence in Kick-Ass. Most who have read it will confirm that in the same vein as all of Mark Millar's work, it is incredibly violent, described as ultraviolent, and Vaughn wants to keep it that way. He is such a believer in the project that he raised the $30 million to produce the film by himself. It was initially brought to numerous Hollywood studios, but most of them asked him to either tone down the violence or increase the ages of the characters. However, Vaughn persisted to stay faithful to the material and decided to just develop the film on his own. Considering Mintz-Plasse is 19 and Moretz is 11, it was a risky move. Although, I bet it'll end up being a big purchase once the studios see some footage. Is this some kick ass casting so far or what?!

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