Feast’s Patrick Osborne tapped to direct Paramount’s Battling Boy adaptation

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The Tracking Board is reporting that Patrick Osborne has been hired by Paramount to helm a big screen take on the Paul Pope graphic novel Battling Boy. While the adaptation will be Osborne's first feature film as a director, he was behind the camera for Disney's Oscar-winning animated short FEAST, and has worked on other movies, such as WRECK-IT RALPH, BIG HERO 6, and BOLT.

Although the comic wasn't published until 2013, Brad Pitt's Plan B picked up the rights to it in 2008. David Gordon Green and Josh Parkinson penned the most recent draft of the script, and John Gatins and Alex Tse were also writers on the project before Green and Parkinson came on board, however sources tell TB that the studio is "working to lock down a new writer, with the tone of the film described as a more comedic approach and 'punk rock' vibe."

Graphic novel description from TB:

Set in the world of Acropolis, which has become infested with a slew terrifying monsters and demons following the death of legendary hero/protector Haggard West, Battling Boy follows a thirteen-year-old demigod who must rid the land of the vile inhabitants as a part of his rite of passage. Battling Boy must deal with his arrogant superhero father, a city council that crafts an embellished image of him, uncontrollable powers from his variety of magical T-shirts, and the antics of Haggard’s vengeful daughter Aurora, all while attempting to survive a plethora of vicious monsters and save a corrupted city.

It's not clear yet if the planned film will be live-action or animated, but regardless of the format, BATTLING BOY sounds like it could be a fun and entertaining movie. Have any of you read the comic, and do you think Patrick Osborne is a good fit for the source material?