Possibly the silliest and zaniest comicbook character of all time is coming to the big screen. No… wait. I take that back. I just thought of Kite Man. And then then I did a quick search and found this and this and yeah… anyway.
Deadline is reporting that Nigerian writer, Amanda Idoko, is adapting Plastic Man for a feature film by Warner Bros. While the studio is yet to announce a director, the movie will reportedly be executive produced by Bob Shaye (Lord of the Rings, Nightmare on Elm Street), the former co-founder of New Line Cinema.
Amanda Idoko (a self described “naija girl” and “ray of sunshine”) is an upcoming Nigerian writer who is part of a wave of talented, black, female screenwriters making waves in television and movies. She confirmed the news herself on Twitter with unrestrained excitement.
This news caps a year-long search for the right writer for the project and further demonstrates Warner/DC’s new-found willingness to shift away from dark and gritty and encourage different flavors of story-telling with their big-screen projects.
This will be Idoko’s second major feature project. In October, her first feature script, Breaking News in Yuba County, went into production and stars Allison Janney (The West Wing) and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) under the direction of Tate Taylor (The Help, Winter’s Bone).
Who is Plastic Man?
Definitely one of the zaniest characters ever to grace the pages of a comicbook, Plastic Man (real name Patrick “Eel” O’Brian) was created by Jack Cole for the defunct Quality Comics in 1941 before DC bought the rights to Plas when Quality Comics collapsed in 1956.
O’Brian was part of a gang who was shot during failed heist and doused with a chemical liquid. Abandoned to die by his crew, he wakes to find he has the power to stretch and shape-shift into just about anything. Unlike some former crooks who suddenly gain powers, O’Brian takes the unusual step of reforming and becoming the superhero Plastic Man.
In spite of his history of zaniness, Plastic Man is beloved by many comic fans and has been instrumental in saving countless lives. In the recent Dark Knights: Metal story arc by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, it was revealed that Plastic Man was actually a superconductor for cosmic energies and was therefore key to saving the DC Universe or multiverse.
Plastic Man was a member of the Justice League and even had his own cartoon series which is currently available on DC Universe.
Source: Deadline
