Hulu is adapting Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

It’s possible you’ve never heard of Alan Moore, the grumpiest genius in the comics industry. But you’ve probably heard of his work: Moore is the guy behind hugely influential works like Watchmen, V For Vendetta and Batman: The Killing Joke. He’s famous for his piercing insight into the human condition and his steadfast refusal to endorse any adaptation of his stories. Google him sometime; he is irascible.

So he’s probably not too thrilled with the news that there’s going to be a new movie based on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the comic he wrote with artist Kevin O’Neill. The premise is great: a group of characters from Victorian literature — Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Mina Hawker from Dracula, etc — get together to form what is essentially a superhero team. The comic has been adapted once before, in a mediocre 2003 action flick headlined by Sean Connery. Now, according to The A.V. Club, Hulu is giving it another go.

Hulu, if you don’t know, is owned by Disney, which also operates Disney+; Hulu is where they put their less family-friendly material. The original League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie was made by 20th Century Fox, which Disney absorbed a few years back, which means it now has the screen rights to the story.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vs (a non-infringing character who is clearly modeled after) Harry Potter

I’m not sure what I’m looking forward to more: the new movie or Alan Moore’s fiery condemnation of it. I also wonder why Hulu is making a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie and not a TV show, because it kind of lends itself to long-form storytelling. There’s one arc, set later in time, where the main villain is the Antichrist, a kid who learned magic at a secret wizard school and has a distinctive scar on his forehead…

So yes, the heroes face off against Harry Potter (just don’t call him that, for legal purposes). I’d watch that.

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