David Petersen’s 10-year running, Eisner-winning comic book seriesMouse Guardis finallyset film adaptation thanks toDawn of the Planet of the ApesdirectorMatt ReevesandRogue One: A Star Wars StoryscreenwriterGary Whitta.THRreports that 20th Century Fox has optioned Petersen’s best-selling work for an adaptation penned by Whitta with Reeves producing alongside Boom! Studios’Ross RichieandStephen Christy. Reeves currently has no intention to direct.
The series recently celebrated its10thanniversary and, to-date, has been translated to 10 languages and has sold almost one million copies in print, spawning three volumes of the main series, three volumes of a spinoff seriesMouse Guard: Legend of the Guard.A new series titledMouse Guard: The Weasel Warsis planned for next year.
Created, written and illustrated by Petersen,Mouse Guardfollows a brotherhood of anthropomorphic mice living in medieval times. Despite it’s cutesy sounding logline, the comic series is known for its complex characters, mature storylines, and detailed world-building. For the film, Fox plans to use the technology pioneered forApes(and used earlier this year to stunning effect inThe Jungle Book) for a live-action/CG hybrid film.
Prior plans for an on-screen adaptation fell apart earlier in the decade, and in good news for fans, Petersen was in no hurry to compromise his vision to find a new buyer. At the time, he toldNerdistof his plans for aMouse Guardmovie:
I’d still love to seeMouse Guardon the big screen as an epic CG animated film that is accessible to kids without watering down the content so that adults will still enjoy it. I also am rather protective ofMouse Guardas a property, so I’m not willing to make a quick deal just to get a film made… I want it done properly.
Boom! Studios also has the wonderfulLumberjanesandJames Wan’sMalignant Manin development at Fox. For those eager for more updates on theMouse Guardmovie, stay tuned to Comic-Con where Petersen and Whitta will be fielding fan questions at a Friday afternoon.
