50 Comics That Should Be Movies

Eternals

The Comic: Created as protectors of Earth by the alien Celestials, the Eternals are superhumans who fight the evil Deviants.

The Movie Version: No swooshing capes and flying as a movie version based on Neil Gaiman’s take on the Eternals returns things to the basics. Plot-wise, his story's a blinder: The Eternals who still have their memories intact attempt to track down those who have forgotten who they are. Meanwhile, the Dreaming Celestial prepares to judge humanity…

Perfect Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lucy Lawless, Elisha Cuthbert

Dr eam Director: Edward Zwick

Deadman

The Comic: A 13-issue Vertigo comic that’s loosely based on the DC character. Brandon Cayce refuses to accept death when he’s involved in an airplane crash and returns to the world half alive, where he has visions of other realities.

The Movie Version: Guillermo del Toro is producing a movie based on the DC Comics, but we want to see this Vertigo property going cinema-sized, too. What do we want? Easy: just follow the comic’s plot, with Deadman attempting to stop Devlin, the entity that’s taken over his brother’s body.

Perfect Cast: Bradley Cooper

Dream Director: Zack Snyder

The Mighty

The Comic: The world’s only superhero, Alpha One, may not be all that he seems as his heroic antics mask a potentially sinister agenda. Meanwhile, Lt. Gabriel Cole’s past is linked to Alpha One’s.

The Movie Version: The 12-issue series, written by Peter J. Tomasi ( Green Lantern Corps ), was a great self-contained story that would work brilliantly on the big screen, so a loyal adaptation is a must.

Perfect Cast: Jensen Ackles, Ben Affleck

Dream Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Doctor Strange

The Comic: Follows the titular doctor, an egotistical surgeon who seeks the help of The Ancient One to heal him after a car accident that damages his hands.

The Movie Version: An origins story in which Doctor Strange dedicates his life to learning magic, while also discovering that villainous Baron Mordo was the one responsible for the car crash…

Perfect Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush

Dream Director: Duncan Jones

Peanuts

The Comic: Created by Charles M. Schulz, and starring adorable mutt Snoopy and kid-pal Charlie Brown.

The Movie Version: Something akin to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? , with an animated Snoopy hop-skipping along next to his live-action pals. Obviously, director Wes Anderson’s the only man for the job.

Perfec t Cast: Asa Butterfield

Dream Director: Wes Anderson

Battle Angel

The Comic: Post-apocalyptic manga series in which Alita, a cyborg, is saved by a cybernetics doctor and becomes a bounty hunter.

The Movie Version: James Cameron’s too busy to make it, so lets give it to Luc Besson – he loves a female action heroine, and there’s plenty of material here to keep him interested.

Perfect Cast: Zoe Saldana

Dream Director: Luc Besson

Deathlok

The Comic: A cyborg with a really big gun, Deathlok wanders the globe searching for his own lost humanity. His main arcs appeared in the pages of Uncanny X-Force and Wolverine And The X-Men.

The Movie Version: Perlman was great as Hellboy, and we know he’d bring macho charisma to someone like Deathlok, a seriously ugly goon with a heart of gold… sort of. The quest for redemption is always a compelling one.

Perfect Cast: Ron Perlman

Dream Director: Darren Aronofsky

Girls

The Comic: A saucy, supremely disturbing sci-fi in which aliens come to Earth and present themselves as sexy young women in order to get the better of salivating men.

The Movie Version: Alright, Cronenberg’s proven he can do gripping drama, now it’s time he returned to what he does best: body horror. This is the perfect vehicle for that. And Megan Fox needs a break after a slew of crummy movie choices...

Perfect Cast: Megan Fox

Dream Director: David Cronenberg

Shrapnel

The Comic: An upcoming monthly from Radical Comics, in which the Solar Alliance has colonised almost the entire universe.

The Movie Version: The new Star Wars , hopefully, but this time set in our part of the universe. With its rebels, inter-planetary battles and war hero Samantha Vijaya facing the Alliance, this could be one of the coolest sci-fis for a while.

Perfect Cast: Abbie Cornish

Dream Director: J.J. Abrams

Y: The Last Man

The Comic: Post-apocalyptic sci-fi from Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra in which the last man on Earth attempts to survive – alongside his pet monkey.

The Movie Version: Too many directors than we can be bothered to count have come and gone, scared by the enormity of the project. So let’s just go for it and make five films that tell the whole glorious story in its entirety. Ambitious, but doable, especially with Darabont at the helm…

Perfect Cast: Matt Damon

Dream Director: Frank Darabont