While bonding between takes of filming Kick-Ass, Millar and director Matthew Vaughn developed a concept for a new project on which they could collaborate: a send up of the action-spy genre that both honors the James Bond-type films of the 60’s and 70’s, while breathing new life into it for the younger generations. Mark Millar’s The Secret Service was released bi-monthly in 2012-2012 and, interestingly enough, Matthew Vaughn is credited as “co-plotter” throughout the series. The script for the film was written alongside the production of the comic, just like the first Kick-Ass. Although the two developed the ideas together, the adaptation still differs from the comic in countless ways. Characters are omitted, renamed, or given a complete overhaul; yet, the English tone of the comic is kept fully intact. As a result, when comparing the comic versus the film, the advantages of each respective medium is highlighted, firmly solidifying Millar’s sensibilities as a creative genius. The product of Millar and Vaughn’s adept collaboration is Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Because the comic and film were developed alongside each other (and, because films take significantly longer to produce), Vaughn’s film hand picks certain elements to adapt, leaving many others along the wayside. The overall premise remains the same, in which a troubled youth is recruited to be a part of the MI6, ultimately tasked with stopping a plot that would kill off over 75% of the world’s population. Taron Egerton, despite the lack of name recognition, brings a ton of charisma to the role of Eggsy. Colin Firth absolutely kills it as the suave, mentor super-spy. And, in a role created exclusively for the film, Samuel L. Jackson parodies the diabolical villains inherent to classic spy movies with his character of Richmond Valentine, speaking with a lisp for the entirety of the film. The comic book counterpart to Valentine is particularly bland and forgetful, with no defining characteristics other than a nefarious plot, so it’s nice to see that Vaughn gave him something more to do.
While the third act of the films is very reminiscent of the final issue of The Secret Service comic, the conclusions could not have been more different (for those who haven’t yet done so, go read the comic!). In an interview with /FILM, Millar spoke precisely about the nuances of comic book film adaptations, stating, “Your sense of excitement and your adrenaline in a movie is being developed over a two hour period. With a comic it’s a lot more episodic and they just have a slightly different vibe. So in translation these things are always gonna be a little bit different.” After being involved in so many adaptations by now, it’s evident that Millar has grown extremely confident in his work, honing in on the strengths of each medium, and ultimately delivering the proper product to the intended consumer.
Due to his proven track record, Millar was hired by 20th Century Fox to serve as a creative consultant on their comic book adaptations: namely, their X-Men and Fantastic Four films. Given that he had a hand in introducing both superhero teams to Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, it should come as no surprise to fans. I’ve written on this site before about my hopes for the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. After serving in a similar role for several successful comic book adaptations in recent years, along with one forgettable dud (sorry, Kick-Ass 2 fans!), Millar is the perfect man to shepherd the future of Marvel’s oft-forgotten first family. Also, if recent rumors are at all truthful, fans may be getting an adaptation of Millar’s Old Man Logan storyline for the James Mangold-directed, 2017 Wolverine film that will serve as Hugh Jackman’s swan-song to the character.
And if that’s not good enough, fans’ prayers will be answered on May 6th, 2016 when Millar’s famous Civil War storyline is given the big screen treatment. Although the writer admittedly doesn’t have a professional relationship with Marvel Studios, it has the chance to become the biggest, most successful adaptations yet of Millar’s comics. Captain America: Civil War, which will feature Chris Evans‘ super-soldier going toe-to-toe with Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man, has such lofty expectations that it even scared off Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice from its originally planned, prime blockbuster release date. Currently the king of comics, it won’t be long before Mark Millar is considered the king of movies, too. Not so bad for a geeky kid from Scotland with dreams of someday writing comics, eh?
What do you think about Mark Millar? Which of his other comics do you hope to see on the big screen? Give us your opinion in the comments or on Twitter!
