Why beat them when you can join them? That's the very interesting premise of Matt Wagner's Grendel from Dark Horse Comics. The story has always been a fan favorite, and Netflix is hoping that the same will be true on the screen. This week, the streamer announced an eight episode live action adaptation of Grendel, adding to the list of Dark Horse stories either being developed or already airing.
If you're not familiar with the story, here's some quick info from Netflix: "Based on Matt Wagner's groundbreaking comic book series, Grendel follows Hunter Rose, a gifted fencer, writer and assassin as, seeking to avenge the death of a lost love, he goes to war with New York's criminal underworld, only to realize...why beat them, when you can join them?"
Vigilante turned villain is quite a twist, and it will be interesting to see exactly how Netflix adapts this story. A lot of that heavy lifting will be done by executive producer, writer and showrunner Andrew Dabb (Resident Evil, Supernatural). Other executive producers include Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson (The Umbrella Academy, Hellboy), Keith Goldberg (The Umbrella Academy, Resident Alien), Chris Tongue (Polar, Splinter), and comic creator Matt Wagner.
We also have some information on the cast. You'll see Abubakr Ali (Power Book II: Ghost, Katy Keene) as Hunter Rose/Grendel. He'll be joined by Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick, The Time Traveler’s Wife) as “Jocasta Rose”, Julian Black Antelope (The Flash, Debris) as “Argent”, Madeline Zima (Californication, Hacks) as “Liz Sparks”, Kevin Corrigan (Scenes from an Empty Church, The Get Down) as “Barry Palumbo”, Emma Ho (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Expanse) as “Stacy Palumbo”, Erik Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Watchmen) as “Teddy Ciccone”, Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive) as “Annabelle Wright” and Andy Mientus (The Flash, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings) as “Larry Stohler”.
Wagner is understandably thrilled at the news. In a statement provided by Netflix, he said: "I couldn’t be more thrilled about the GRENDEL saga, one of the longest-running independent comics series, finally being translated into live-action for the screen. Under the sharp guidance of showrunner Andrew Dabb, our incredible creative team, sure-to-be stellar cast and Dark Horse Entertainment have teamed with Netflix to produce this provocative adaptation that will bring my characters and concepts to an all new audience and yet still provide excitement and surprises for die-hard fans. I'm especially excited to see Abubakr Ali bring the character of Grendel/Hunter Rose to life -- he has the charisma, style and vital edginess that I've been envisioning in the role for years."
There is no release date yet for Grendel, or word of when production will begin. It may be a while before the next update, but keep checking back.
Photo Credit: Dark Horse Comics/David Noles/Netflix