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Adam McKay is Courting Russell Crowe for Adaptation of 'The Boys'

by Ethan Anderton
March 29, 2011
Source: MTV

Last June we got official word that director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) would be venturing into some darker territory by helming the adaptation  of Garth Ennis' comic book series The Boys. Well, MTV recently caught up with the director at the First Annual Comedy Awards where they chatted about the adaptation. The biggest revelation from McKay came when he mentioned one of the actors he's met with to potentially star in the film. The director said, "I've sat with some people. I really like the idea of Russell Crowe for [Billy] Butcher. We met and had kind of an interesting meeting." That sounds absolutely fantastic!

However, this meeting seems to have come pretty early on as McKay says he's still in the middle of writing the script. "I'm writing completely on my own on that, so it's taking twice as long as it should. I am actually in the home stretch. I have about two weeks left on this draft and we're going to try and get it made. It's looking pretty cool. I'm excited about it." But even when he finishes the script, it sounds like he's still a little uncertain about the project easily taking off. McKay speaks realistically, "You really have to wait until the draft is done to get serious about it, plus it's like a $100 million, Rated-R, anti-superhero movie, so we have to see who bites on it."

Getting Russell Crowe attached wouldn't be a bad place to start. Of course, fans of the comic still want Simon Pegg to take on the role of Wee Hughie, a character which comic co-creator Darick Robertson has admitted to modeling after the actor himself. McKay even says, "Everyone knows Simon Pegg can take Hughie if he wants," he said. "I don't know what his schedule is like, though." Even Pegg himself has some reservations about taking the role. The actor spoke to The Playlist about potentially joining the project at SXSW saying:

"I don’t know if I’m too old for Wee Hughie, you know, I’m a 41 year old man, Wee Hughie is like a young guy. I think Darick and Garth [Ennis] imagined Wee Hughie as [my character] Tim from 'Spaced,' not Simon Pegg, 41 years old. But we’ll see.”

Still, he doesn't rule it out completely, and with McKay approving his casting and fans surely wanting it, there's really not much in the way of making it happen. Obviously since the script isn't done and there's no official greenlight or even a studio attached, nothing is official yet. But the prospect of a comedy director like McKay taking on an unexpected project like The Boys with Simon Pegg and Russell Crowe involved just sounds awesome. Personally, I hope these plans actually come together. How about you?

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