Back in April, rumours began to spread that Anchorman/Talladega Nights director Adam McKay would be switching from his usual Will Ferrell collaborations to have a stab at the adaptation of Garth Ennis’ brilliantly brutal comic book tale The Boys. Now, we have some confirmation that McKay is at least in talks.
Collider was the first to deliver an update and now Entertainment Weekly has talked to sources that confirm McKay is now chatting to Sony about taking on the job, which means that he’s actually aiming to negotiate a deal.
Like fellow Ennis favourite Preacher, The Boys – which follows a group of CIA agent who police superheroes with orders to kill if they get out of line – has been wandering around the development halls for a couple of years, and at least one writing team has had a crack at getting its genius into a script.
The Boys would definitely be a change of pace for McKay, though given how deftly he’s handled the uniquely funny tone of Ferrell and others in the past, he’s well suited to Ennis' black comic tone and thoughtful writing. As for the sexual situations and bleak, bloody violence? We’d like to see him take a stab.
Our big worry is that Sony will try to water the spicy, tough original soup down to create a bland mess suitable for general consumption. But if McKay does sign, hopefully his past success will give him the clout to keep it as intact as possible.