Seth Rogen Talks Post-‘Preacher’ Challenge of Adapting Garth Ennis’ ‘The Boys’
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg may have succeeded against odds in bringing Garth Ennis classic Preacher to life on AMC, but can lightning strike twice to bring the artist’s superhero-smashing The Boys to Cinemax? A new interview sees Rogen on the decision to attack the superhero world (with or without Simon Pegg’s help), while Ennis says “Sick of superheroes? Because we are.”
The Hollywood Reporter questioned Rogen, Goldberg and Ennis on their next comic collaboration, adapting The Boys comic of a CIA black ops group who monitor and sometimes dispatch superheroes, themselves violent and corrupt celebrities who place civilians in danger on a frequent basis. Set up at Cinemax, Rogen, Goldberg and Neal Moritz will adapt Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys to pilot, as written by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke.
While Ennis in particular noted that the popularity of superhero media would make it easier for modern audiences to recognize the many superhero analogues populating The Boys, Rogen offered his own interest in the concept, apart from Preacher:
The idea of doing something in the world of superheroes, in a more traditional sense, was very appealing to us. Preacher is a comic book, but there’s something about the visuals of that world and the idea of really trying as firmly as possible implant that type of idea in our world… it’s something we’ve talked about doing for years and years and years and years, and we’ve just never really found the right idea. We’ve kicked around tons of ideas like it, and [The Boys] is probably the way to do all of that.
Rogen also dismissed the notion that Simon Pegg could take part in the series, despite illustrator Robertson deliberately drawing Scottish character “Wee Hughie” to match the Shaun of the Dead star, while Ennis expressed more concern with the casting of his favorite written character, Billy Butcher.
Rogen, Ennis and Goldberg will continue developing and writing the Cinemax pilot, but will it live up to Ennis’ rebellious synopsis? “Sick of superheroes? Because we are.”