It’s been nearly two decades since director Stephen Norrington adapted Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. That was Sean Connery’s last film, and he infamously decked Norrington during an onset disagreement. But perhaps enough time has passed that Hollywood can take another crack at it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s 20th Century Studios is producing a new adaptation as a Hulu original movie.
Moore and O’Neill first published their comic book series in 1999, and they envisioned it as a Justice League for the Victorian era. The cast was led by Mina Murray, one of Dracula’s victims from the Bram Stoker novel. She was joined by the explorer Allan Quartermain, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea‘s Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, and his alter ego, Mister Hyde.
Moore and O’Neill’s series of miniseries continued the team’s adventures against the backdrop of the late 19th century and into the 20th. Over that time, members came and went as they took on aliens from Mars, Professor James Moriarty, and thinly-veiled versions of characters who are still under copyright.
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Connery played Quatermain in the original film, with Peta Wilson as Mina, Naseeruddin Shah as Captain Nemo, Jason Flemyng as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, and Tony Curran as Rodney Skinner, the new Invisible Man. However, the first adaptation took several liberties with the comic. Perhaps the most egregious was the introduction of Shane West as Tom Sawyer, the only American in the cast. Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend) was also added to the team, but with less controversy than Tom Sawyer.
Don Murphy, the executive producer of the original film, is once again producing the new adaptation. This time, Murphy will be joined by Susan Montford and Erwin Stoff. The project has already lined screenwriter Justin Haythe, whose credits include Revolutionary Road and Red Sparrow.
Moore is openly disdainful of the previous adaptations of his work, including Watchmen, From Hell, and V For Vendetta. Regardless, Hollywood keeps trying. It remains to be seen if the new League adaptation is more successful than the last one.
Who would you cast in the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Omnibus
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