Fox Will Try Again With The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Twentieth Century Fox

I confess: I actually enjoyed The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I understand that what I really enjoyed was the concept, of Alan Moore‘s original idea to build a superhero team out of iconic literary characters, such as Captain Nemo and Mina Harker. I wanted the movie version to be as good as that idea, and I admit I went along for the nonsensical ride. I know it’s a really bad comic book adaptation, but it has a few charms and some positive elements (such as its Mr. Hyde costume). But when it comes to movies that need remakes, this is high on my list. According to The Tracking Board, that remake is coming.

But will it be as extraordinary as its title (not to mention its material) demands? Will it join the leagues of improved remakes or at least the leagues of decent comic book movies? When we look at our old list of the worst comic adaptation of all time, on which LXG lands at number 10, almost all of them have since been redone or rebooted or otherwise been replaced with something much better. Now we just need new versions of this and Howard the Duck with the level of quality of Netflix’s Daredevil or Nolan’s Batman trilogy or Marvel’s Captain America and Avengers movies.

Or I’ll settle for a movie that doesn’t lead to one of our favorite actors of all time retiring because he made the bad choice to play Allan Quatermain in the misguided 2003 attempt. The sad thing is that Sean Connery was one of the more enjoyable parts of the first LXG movie and it’s hard for me to think of anyone so suited to take over the role. But maybe they don’t need to. Fox, via producer John Davis (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem), could just jump ahead to the 2009 incarnation of the League, when Mina teams up with Quatermain’s son and Mary Poppins and they fight a villainous Harry Potter. I think today’s audiences would like that one better than the 19th century setting.

Watch the trailer for the previous take:

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