Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: image comics, Mark Millar, millarworld, nemesis, netflix, steve mcniven

Mark Millar Promises Return Of Nemesis, Maybe He Means It This Time

Published Thu, 17 Mar 2022 14:47:11 -0500

In 2009, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven published a Millarworld book through Marvel Comics called Nemesis, that saw DC Comics send the lawyers after their promotion for the series. The series was then supposed to return in 2012 as Nemesis Returns or Nemesis 2. Then it was delayed until 2013. Then nothing.

We were told ten years ago, "In order to help facilitate the timeliness of the Nemesis Returns, Steve has teamed up with two exciting new talents and opened a new studio endeavour, Carbon Sun Studios" and that "Nemesis means a lot to me and I want it to be the best of my stuff out there," said McNiven. "I want it done right, and we'll make sure Nemesis gets his due." That was ten years ago. A Nemesis film adaptation was previously teased with Tony Scott attached as director and Millar in a producer role, but that went to naught.

The comic book saw the charismatic supervillain Nemesis target Chief Inspector Blake Morrow ostensibly over what Morrow did to his father. He hijacks Air Force One over the District of Columbia, takes the United States president before crashing the plane into Washington D.C., killing hundreds, and then tens of thousands with poison gas, simply to taunt the conservative Morrow. He kidnaps Morrow's family, forcing them to reveal his wife had an affair, his son is gay and that his daughter had a secret abortion, before artificially inseminated Morrow's daughter with his son's sperm, with her womb rigged to collapse if an abortion is attempted. It was a different time. Or something. It's eventually revealed that the Nemesis identity is one owned by a company that arranges for rich people to become supervillains. And that a new one will arise. Well, it's been ten years.

The rights to make a Nemesis film were optioned by 20th Century Fox. Tony Scott was set to direct it before his death, in conjunction with his Scott Free production company. In 2010 Joe Carnahan was reportedly working on the screenplay for the film and was confirmed as the director two years later, also as a writer of the script with his brother Matthew Carnahan. The rights however lapsed and in 2015 Warner Bros acquired them to adapt it. In May 2021, Millar stated that Emerald Fennell had written the latest draft of the screenplay.

And now Mark Millar is promising the Return Of Nemesis ten years after it was originally promised. He writes in his newsletter, "what else is going on? Comics wise, there's the return of Nemesis and the artist drawing is one of the top secret dudes above" referring to a couple of big name secret Marvel/DC artists he has recruited to the new Nemesis as part of a series of announcements he's been making today. Will it come out from Image Comics this year as promised? Or is another ten year wait on the cards?

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