Director Len Wiseman has signed on to develop and direct the motion picture adaptation of Radical Publishing‘s Shrapnel. The film is being developed as live action with a possible 3-D approach. It will be produced by Barry Levine, Wiseman, and Mark Gordon with Radical’s Executive Vice-President Jesse Berger, Mark Long, and Josh McLaughlin of Gordon Co. attached as executive producers. A video game version of Shrapnel, developed by Zombie Studios, is set for release in the near future.
Wiseman directed Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Previously, he was the director (as well as a co-creator and producer) of Underworld (2003) and Underworld: Evolution (2006). Before that, he worked in the props department for Godzilla (1998), Men in Black (1997), Independence Day (1996), and Stargate (1994).
Shrapnel, the three-comic miniseries, was co-created by Zombie Studios’ CEO Mark Long and novelist Nick Sagan. Set in a dystopian future in which “imperialism has laid siege to the Solar System and Venus stands as the last free colony of humanity. Caught in the middle of this interplanetary war is Samantha ‘Sam’ Vijaya, a soldier in self-imposed exile recovering from her service in the military. When the battle once again crashes into Sam’s life, she must choose to either remain on the sidelines and watch a colony’s destruction, or risk her physical and psychological well-being to intervene.” The first volume was set on Venus; book two moved to Mars, and the climactic book three is set on Earth.
“I’m really drawn to the reluctant-hero story,” Wiseman said. He referred to the last hero he directed, John McClaine in Live Free or Die Hard, as fitting that archetypal mold.
“Shrapnel is a story about making choices and rising to the occasion,” said Radical’s President and Publisher Barry Levine. “I enjoyed it so much that I made this Radical’s biggest commitment to date. Len was my top choice for adapting this perfect balance of action and drama and I’m glad to have him on board.”
The trade paperback Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising, which collects the first miniseries of the Shrapnel universe, goes on sale in August.