Ritchie Locked for Lobo
Warner Bros. has locked Guy Ritchie to direct “Lobo,” the live action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien interstellar bounty hunter.
Don Payne wrote the most recent script draft, and Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona will produce. Pic is a co-production between Silver Pictures and Weed Road.
Ritchie will make the film his follow-up to “Sherlock Holmes,” the Silver-produced film that stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, which Warner Bros. opens Christmas Day.
Production on “Lobo” begins early next year. The character originated in 1983 in “Omega Men,” written by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen. Lobo has had several comic incarnations. In the film, he is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenaged girl to stop the creatures.
WB is aiming for a PG-13 rating. Pic will be strong on visual effects, and Ritchie will bring the irreverent, gruff tone of past films like "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."
Steve Richards and Kerry Foster will be executive producers.
With all the attention on Disney’s Marvel deal, the Ritchie deals gives WB yet another production start through its DC Comics banner. Silver and Goldsman are producers on “The Losers,” while Goldsman is a producer on “Jonah Hex.” WB recently set Ryan Reynolds to play the title character in the Martin Campbell-directed “Green Lantern.” DC Comics is a WB-owned entity, and Gregory Noveck steers the film adaptations for DC.
Ritchie is repped by CAA.
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Lobo and PG-13 will never go together. Lobo was pretty much an NC-17 comic and that is one of the main reasons it was great. Still, I have major enthusiasm for this Guy Ritchie flick.
Posted by: Stinkypete | 09/02/2009 at 02:45 PM
Lobo? PG-13? Pass.
R or nothing.
Posted by: Don of the dead | 09/02/2009 at 04:39 PM
this is great news. too bad for the PG-13. i hope they can pull a great film under these constraints
Posted by: fragman | 09/02/2009 at 04:50 PM
A PG-13 film for an x-rated psychopath that killed his whole planet so he can be unique...
DO NOT WANT!!!!
Posted by: crumb_bum | 09/02/2009 at 05:01 PM
I see EPIC failure on the horizon and a straight to DVD release...
Posted by: 5626 | 09/02/2009 at 05:06 PM
this proves once again Warner's does not know how to translate the dc characters to big screen for Lobo is a character whose film screams R not PG. guess this means the paramilitary holiday special is a no go as the story for the film. wonder who will be picked to be Lobo
Posted by: chad | 09/02/2009 at 05:19 PM
This is awful, awful news for Lobo fans.
Blue-skinned? Teams up with a teenaged girl?
HAS ANYONE WORKING ON THIS FILM READ A COMIC BOOK?
Next thing you know, Megan Fox will play the girl.
Posted by: LOBOette | 09/02/2009 at 07:13 PM
Danny Trejo should play Lobo.
Posted by: eli | 09/02/2009 at 07:23 PM
I guess I'll be the guy who reminds everyone that Lobo's supposed to be a satire of "extreme," uber-violent comic characters, not an example of them.
Posted by: Michael | 09/02/2009 at 07:42 PM
PG-13?!?!?!?!?
Teen Age Girl?!?!?!?!?
WTF?!?!!?
Posted by: PushingMongo | 09/02/2009 at 08:25 PM
I was stoked for this... until I read PG-13. THAT SUCKS!!!! Way to ruin a character. Soooo lame. I'm afraid to say it but that WON'T help sales Warner Brothers! It is an iconic cult character... not a family friendly one!
Posted by: R.J. MacReady | 09/03/2009 at 04:35 AM
Sam Arkoff:
"R"-Restricts (cuts-off) audiences from seeing the movie; yet "G" drives-off the teenagers.
When Steven Spielberg "tore the heart out of a guy" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg asked the MPAA to introduce an R-13-rating. The parents comprising the MPAA thought R-13 sounded too much like R-Restricted, they opted to call the rating PG-13.
(anyone living in Los Angeles, drive down to the studio gates and confront LOBO's producers to film a no holds barred "cut" of the film)
anyone can stand at a studio's gate and wait for people they need to talk to--screenwriter Brian Helgeland is said to have stood in front of a studio gate every day with a placard "I need a writing job" when Richard Donner pulled-over to talk to him.
LOBO CAN go both PG-13 (R-13) and UNRATED . . . just drive down to the studio and make yourselves enough of a nuisance to be heard but not enough of a nuisance to be arrested.
Posted by: GFT | 09/03/2009 at 05:59 AM
It won't be Megan Fox, it'll be Dakota Fanning... and I will shed a tear of sadness. But my God, at least DC is 100% safe from the Disney Disaster, and we won't be seeing Myley Cyrus as Batgirl and Nick Jonas as Robin in the next Batman movie or something...
Posted by: Daniel | 09/03/2009 at 06:20 AM
It's gonna have to star Brad Garrett!!!
Posted by: Alex | 09/03/2009 at 06:29 AM
Want to make a bad movie...Hire Guy Ritchie.
Want to ruin a franchise...Hire McG.
Posted by: jackson | 09/03/2009 at 07:51 AM
Doing this PG-13 is a TERRIBLE idea.
Saddling the character with teen girl sidekick is, remarkably, an EVEN MORE TERRIBLE ideas.
Marvel fights to keep their projects close to the comics. DC rolls over and plays dead.
The worst example is "Superman Returns", in which Superman is turned into a deadbeat baby-daddy with stalkerish tendencies.
Posted by: Dave | 09/03/2009 at 07:54 AM
Sherlock Holmes looks pretty lame....why does every movie now have to have some ultra stylized slomo look.....zzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by: decki | 09/03/2009 at 09:35 AM
UHhhhhhhhhh.......
Seriously? You're gonna get one of the greatest adult-themed comics in history directed by one of the most talented adult-themed directors in the business, and murder the effort with PG13 and teenage girl sidekicks?
You're not going to get a single Lobo fan to see this movie... so why not just rename him and let someone else who CARES do a Lobo movie right? Your bottom line will stay unaffected and it won't be taking another gigantic dump on my childhood.
Posted by: Beatnik | 09/03/2009 at 10:09 AM
AHHHHH! Why can't DC get it right? EVER???? PG-13???? WTMOTHERF???????????
Posted by: Boondock | 09/03/2009 at 12:26 PM
this is obviously their attempt to battle the ultra violent/off the wall comic movie "KICK ASS"
Ultra violent bounty hunter teams up with little girl (that is most likely going to blow people's brains out) seems like a rightful rebuttal
With that said, everyone knows that PG-13 nowadays gets away with a lot. Stop tripping out so hard. We wont be seeing gratuity but...the fact that Guy Ritchie is directing this (who has done multiple gritty films of a violent nature) could just provide enough push/pull tactics to get them to change it to a Rated R movie.
I'm not holding my breath though
Posted by: bsilver0012 | 09/03/2009 at 12:45 PM
pg for Lobo! WTF. Dont even bother making it if that's how your gona start. Dill-weeds. I wonder if they've even read the comic? Guy Ritchie's a good start though
Posted by: whatthedoosh | 09/03/2009 at 02:09 PM
LOBO YEAH!
Now thats out of the way usually I am just happy their actually make a comic into a movie but with this description the only thing that can save this movie is hopefully it comes out in 2013 when the world is gone or we're to evolve or mutated to watch it.
Posted by: mr.tomorrow | 09/03/2009 at 04:35 PM
Pg-13 huh? EPIC FAIL!!!!
Boycott!!!
Posted by: Bastcih | 09/03/2009 at 04:43 PM
I think you can blame Watchmen for Lobo being PG-13. Watchmen was the first "R" superhero movie and it failed at the box office. I remember reading an exceprt from one of the WB execs saying they'll never make another "R" rated superhero flick again becuase of that.
Hopefully Guy Ritchie will still deliver a wicked movie even though it's PG-13
Posted by: The Whispering Eye | 09/03/2009 at 06:01 PM
I am a huge fan of Lobo, got every comic from his main stream stories and everyone shot I even got the fan made paramilitary xmas special and the episodes' from superman TAS that had Brad Garret palying the role. Now about this movie it sounds terrible, not being pg13 I understand that PG13 can get away with alot however it's more then obviouse by any fan that if you'veread Lobo then pg13 is not a possibility. An the idea of a teen, earthling, sidekick sounds tupid. This is Lobo he barely teams with aliens even ones he likes (like his best friend Jonas Glimm) so why would he team with human specifically a human teenage girl...? If this was like a hot biker babe or some badass assasin ro something I get but a teen girl.. wow that's just stupid. An the premises to be taking place on earth is mornoic. Lobo travels over the entire universe, he has almost never been to earth in fact if I recall he's only maybe been to the actual planet earth maybe only 3 to 5 times, and even then he ain't teamin up with no kiddies. One of the arguments I heard was its on Earth so movie goers could relate more to it, but that's mornic as well. Lobo is an alien from a far off utopia planet that he himself fragged. Why would that need to translate to something for movie goers to understand? With that said I think everyone should boycott this film and watch it online some where. Odds are it will end up online so don't dare waste money supporting DC comics failed attempt at making a pourly made film based on a very interesting character. Maybe the hard decline in profits will let them (WB/DC) understand that they should actually take pride in their creations.
Posted by: Nero Angelus | 09/03/2009 at 08:58 PM