Jake Gyllenhaal will lead Robert Kirkman’s Oblivion Song movie

Between the final season of The Walking Dead and the super-popular debut season of Invincible, the world can’t get enough of Robert Kirkman’s creations. Now, New Republic Pictures and Nine Stories are bringing Kirkman’s Oblivion Song to the big screen.

Oblivion Song is a comic about a strange alien race that takes over Philadelphia…and maybe even the world. Superstar Jake Gyllenhaal is already signed on to both produce and headline the picture!

An adaptation of the comic has been in limbo for some time. Skybound first announced plans to develop the story into a movie back in 2019. It was under development at Universal for a while with Sean O’Keefe penning the script, and then things went quiet.

But now, Deadline reports that Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer’s New Republic Pictures have picked up the pieces and are officially moving forward with the project. Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst will also produce. In a statement, creator Robert Kirkman shared his delight that this was finally happening:

"We couldn’t be more excited to find such great partners in New Republic and Nine Stories. Both companies have a tremendous reputation for premium storytelling at the highest level, and we can’t wait to see Jake bring this character to life on the big screen. We are so fortunate to have assembled a team that is as passionate about this comic as we are."

Nine Stories’ Riva Marker added a comment as well: “When faced with a cataclysmic event that permanently alters our lives, what would we choose to save? Just as Kirkman did with The Walking Dead and Invincible, in Oblivion Song, he’s created the potential for a franchise that is profoundly entertaining, and the perfect opportunity to explore big questions we’re reckoning with globally.”

It’s worth noting that Kirkman has announced that the source comic will soon come to an end, which means the producers will have a complete story to work with.

What is Oblivion Song about?

Begun in 2018 by Robert Kirkman and artist Lorenzo De Felici, Oblivion Song takes place a decade after a mysterious alien race has decimated Philadelphia, killing over 300,000 people and turning it into an apocalyptic wasteland known as Oblivion. While the government made attempts to rescue people, their attempts were mostly futile.

But our protagonist, Nathan Cole, simply can’t resist the siren call of the Oblivion Song. He makes frequent trips to recover those lost. Above all, he will do anything to find his brother, who went missing very early on.

We assume Gyllenhaal is playing Nathan Cole. He previously played a comic book character in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, where he was the villain Mysterio.

Currently, the movie is still in development. There is no release date set, though I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about Oblivion Song in the near future!

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