With Hollywood running out of printed comic characters to adapt, it seems they’re turning to the online world, as Paramount Pictures has acquired the web-based comic book series New Kid for an animated adaptation, and hired The Book of Eli screenwriter Gary Whitta to write it, according to Variety.
The comic puts a fresh spin on the ‘new kid in school’ premise, centring on a young boy who is the only human attending a school full of aliens. Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik created the online comic, which has gained a large following. The series has spawned off into its own blog, podcasts, video games, and an online TV series.
It’s certainly a premise that could make for a fun film. Paramount has bought the property as its currently looking to make more animated films. While most studios have set up or expanded their CG animation divisions in recent years, Paramount has relied on the distribution deal it’s had with Dreamworks Animation. That deal in now coming to an end, so the studio is trying to ensure it’s ready to start making movies in-house, especially following the success of its first home-grown CG film, Rango. While Paramount is likely to try and continue releasing the Dreamworks Animation movies, buying New Kid suggests they know there’s a good chance the company will strike a new deal elsewhere.