EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. is negotiating to sign a seven-figure film rights deal for Avengelyne — Dead Pool Creator Rob Liefeld’s signature comic creation about an angel fighting the forces of evil.
Most deals are closed. Deadline has learned that Margot Robbie is set to star as the title character (subject to the script), Olivia Wilde will direct and Poor things Screenwriter Tony McNamara will write the script. LuckyChap is on board as producer, young Robbie runs through their genre banner with Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara as well as Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon.
This came to Warner Bros. and the studio beat him to it. It’s the second major deal for the studio in a week. Warner Bros. has inked a $2.5 million deal to secure a rights package for a film about Chris Farley that will star Paul Walter Hauser and be directed by Josh Gad. The Avengelyne The deal is even bigger.
LuckyChap is coming out Barbie, last year’s highest-grossing film with eight Oscar nominations. Wilde most recently directed Don’t worry, darling and before Booksmart.
Deadline announced on April 4 that it was a hot project.
Avengelyne is an angel who fights the forces of evil and often faces demons and monsters. She was the most feared warrior in the heavenly host and had single-handedly broken into Pandemonium, the outer fortress of Hell, to confront the devil himself. She is a fallen angel who was banished from heaven by God after being tricked into questioning his love for humanity. Avengelyne was stripped of all of her angelic abilities, except for her great strength and her blood, which, once removed from her body, could be used as a weapon or miracle if empowered by quoting verses from the Bible. Avengelyne uses her powers to fight demons on Earth and is groomed to be humanity’s last hope in an impending Armageddon.
Kinberg produced this Dead Pool Films that came from Liefeld’s comics and that led to the conversation Avengelyne, which Kinberg brought to Robbie. They brought in Wilde and McNamara; between Deadpool, Barbie, poor things And Booksmart, there’s an edgy sensibility that they hope to capture here. Warner Bros. production executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy were the catalyst for a title that De Luca actually chose when he headed production at New Line years ago. Liefeld’s stock is high Deadpool and Wolverine seems to be the big film of the summer. Kinberg is the executive producer here.
In the past, Liefeld has explained his heroine this way: “Avengelyne resonated so much with audiences because her story of redemption is so relatable. As a fallen angel condemned to redeem herself through service to humanity, Earth is an alien environment to her, she must adapt to save herself and humanity. Her dilemma provides humor amid the larger plot that drives her journey.”
Verve, CAA and UTA handled the auction. Robbie is repped by CAA, Aran Michael Management and Entertainment 360; Wilde is on CAA, Untitled and Hamilton Hodell; McNamara is with UTA, Sugar23 and HLA Management; and Liefeld is represented by Verve.
Avengelyne comic book.