Though** Ant Man** still seems to be wandering in the development halls while Marvel and co-writer / director Edgar Wright work on other projects, another insect-based hero is looking to get his shot at the screen. Ladies and gentlebugs, be upstanding for… The Human Fly?
While he’s about as far from a household name as you’re likely to get and still be associated with the Marvel Universe, The Human Fly was based on real-life stuntman Rick Rojatt and featured a young man who was badly injured during a car crash. His body was rebuilt and his skeleton replaced, Wolverine-style, with steel, and he ended up taking on the name Human Fly and performing daredevil stunts to help charities. But he also had to deal with criminals intent on stealing the proceeds of his good deeds.
The unnamed hero occasionally came into conflict with both Spider-Man and Daredevil, since Human Fly was also the name of a villain created by Len Wein, Bill Mantlo and Gil Kane.
Though he enjoyed a short-lived run in the comics between 1977 and 1979, don’t go expecting the cinematic version to be trading punches with Peter Parker, or even joining the Avengers, because this won’t be a Marvel Studios production. Deadline reports that Alan Brewer and Steven Goldman have picked up the rights to the property and plan to work with Eisenberg-Fisher Productions to make it as an indie pic. Goldman is aiming to direct the finished product and Cirque Du Soleil historian (yes, they have one) Tony Babinski wrote the script. There’s no word on when this one will hit our screens just yet…