Villains are “in”

It is common consensus that Heath Ledger’s Joker was the most captivating aspect of this summer’s THE DARK KNIGHT. It obliterated notions of what a comic book villain can be on screen and will hopefully act as a template for villains of the future. We don’t need mad scientists with robotic appendages or world-conquering aspirations. We just need a psychopath with a thirst for destruction. Something real, yaknow?

In an attempt to capitalize on this comic book villain renaissance, Universal has acquired the rights to a graphic novel simply called “Villains”, about a a young, impressionable man whose life is a mess, and who finds purpose when he meets a Svengali-style villain who takes him under his wing. Matt Jennison and Brent Strickland have been tapped to pen the adaptation in what is just another in the infinite line of films based on graphic novels on the way. That’s a good thing.