15 Marvel Comics That Should Be Movies

Runaways

The Comic: A group of seemingly average teenagers discover that their parents have super-powers in this quirky addition to the Marvel canon. Worse still, said parents aren't even heroes… they're supervillains! Stealing some weapons from their respective homes, they head out on the lam, before gradually realising that they've inherited some super-powers of their own…

The Movie: It's a cracking set-up for a movie adaptation, with the super-powered teen angle already having proven popular in the likes of Misfits and Chronicle . Known for its rollicking action and whip-smart dialogue, we'd have former Runaways writer Joss Whedon knock up the script for this one, before having him call on an old friend to direct…

Dream Director: Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon worked brilliantly together on the recently released The Cabin In The Woods , and we'd reunite them again for this one.

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld as Nico, Abigail Breslin as Gertrude, Chloe Moretz as Molly, Dakota Fanning as Karolina, Tristan Wilds as Alex and Alexander Ludwig as Chase.

Namor

The Comic: One of Marvel's earliest antiheroes, Namor the Submariner is the mutant son of a human sailor and a princess of Atlantis, granting him super strength, the power of flight and the ability to survive both underwater and on land. A movie has long been rumoured, but as yet, remains unmade. High time Marvel bit the bullet and got it into production…

The Movie: Throughout the years, Namor has alternatively been portrayed as either a short-tempered but ultimately well-meaning superhero, or a vengeful invader of an earth that has wronged his people. We'd opt for the latter option, focusing on the kingdom of Atlantis and showing Namor leading an uprising against those pesky surface-dwellers.

Dream Director: Kenneth Branagh was a breath of fresh air on Thor , skilfully navigating its more far-fetched elements to bring a classic hero to the big screen. We'd be confident he could do the same for Namor…

Cast: Zachary Quinto is adept at striding the boundary between hero and villain, and would make for a pleasingly ambiguous Namor. We'd also go for Chow-Yun Fat as Krang, the warrior Atlantean with an eye on Namor's throne, whose designs on power would drive Atlantis into war.

Marvel 1985

The Comic: Mark Millar goes all meta on Marvel's ass, by taking a clutch of the stable's most notorious villains and having them begin to crop up in the real world. One little boy catches wind of what's happening, and a knowing, Last Action Hero -style adventure begins. Will anybody listen to little Toby about his sightings of the Red Skull? What do you think?

The Movie: This will almost certainly never happen, but it's a brilliant concept, should Marvel ever want to take their various franchises in a different direction when the public finally gets tired of the never-ending conveyor-belt of superhero movies. If indeed that day ever arrives!

Dream Director: Charlie Kaufman joins the Marvel family and proceeds to thoroughly mess with everybody's heads. Hooray!

Cast: We're assuming Hugo Weaving, Tom Hiddleston, Sam Jackson et et al are locked into appearing in Marvel's output until the day they keel over and die, so casting shouldn't pose much of a problem.

Silver Sable

The Comic: Having first popped up in an edition of Amazing Spider-Man , Silver Sable would go on to head up her own strand of individual comics, focusing on her exploits as a mercenary of questionable methods. A ruthless, violent warrior, the comic-book series sees her bring all manner of undesirables to justice, with Nazi war criminals featuring particularly high on her hit list. She eventually heads up her own team of mercenaries, known as Silver Sable International.

The Movie: In the comics, Silver Sable often works within the wider Marvel universe, with her exploits often setting her at odds with its more clean-cut heroes. However, we'd give her sole billing, homing in on the war criminal element, and pitting her against a host of evil, but crucially human foes.

Dream Director: We'd like to see a female director take a run at a superhero movie, and Kathryn Bigelow certainly has the action credentials to make the job her own.

Cast: When it comes to ass-kicking leading ladies, there are none more fearsome than Haywire star Gina Carano, and we'd love to see her become a marquee name with the leading role in this one. Alternatively, Malin Akerman has the right look. Max von Sydow would play the ageing Nazi in her sights…

Eternals

The Comic: Jack Kirby was the original writer behind this race of celestial beings, described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process, and boasting virtual immortality thanks to a range of superhuman abilities. A popular series in its original incarnation, the franchise really came into its own under the stewardship of Neil Gaiman, who brought the Eternals into the modern-day Marvel universe.

The Movie: This would be an adaptation of Gaiman's story arc, with the Eternals returned to Earth and under threat in a superbly layered mystery saga. Having forgotten their pasts, the Eternals' story is gradually revealed through dreams and flashbacks, as the true nature of these God-like creatures is slowly uncovered.

Dream Director: We were disappointed when Darren Aronofsky dropped out of the long-gestating Wolverine sequel, so we'll take the opportunity to get that comic-book movie out of him at long last.

Cast: Alexander Skarsgård would be a good fit for Ikaris, with Zoe Kravitz as Sersi (now living as a New York it-girl) and Jamie Bell as Makkari.