Disney-Fox deal yields major potential for BOOM! Studios comic adaptations

Quite possibly one of the most exciting aspects of the Disney-Fox deal is that Disney, which had purchased Marvel in 2009, now holds a minor stake in the indie comic book publishing company BOOM! Studios. Fox acquired their slice of the BOOM! pie back in June, which now giving Disney the opportunity to chow down on such comic book properties as Lumberjanes, Jonesy, Goldie Vance, Backstagers, Teen Dog, Godshaper, Heavy Vinyl, Giant Days, Grass Kings, Misfit City, SLAM!, and much more!

For the moment, there's no telling what Disney will do with the acquisition. There's always the chance that they could sell it off, though in my opinion that would be a major mistake, as there is more than enough potential for great comic-to-film content hailing from BOOM! Studios. Personally, I've been hoping for an adaptation of Giant Days for the past three years or so. I also think that the Goonies-like setup of Misfit City would make for a fantastic films series as well. Oh, and if Disney wants their own roller derby drama, they'll be quick to set Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish's SLAM! into production.

Among the titles coming from BOOM! Studios, the following projects would certainly be of Disney's interest:

Goldie Vance: written by Hope Larson, it features a mixed-race teen girl detective who lives in a hotel.  Rashida Jones just came on board to direct an adaptation with Kerry Washington as one of the producers.

Lumberjanes: a fan favorite co-created by Noelle Stevenson (NIMONA, SHE-RA), it tells of a group of girls at a summer camp who battle the strange and supernatural. Cat Vasko wrote the current script.

Mouse Guard: the long-running series is an epic tale set in medieval times and features mice to form a brotherhood to fight predators. Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind the MAZE RUNNER films, is attached to direct and Matt Reeves is one of the producers.

Rust: Carlos Saldanha of Rio fame is attached to direct this story of robots big and small from creator (and my friend) Royden Lepp. It centers on a family struggling to keep its farm afloat when it encounters Jet Jones, a boy robot with a mysterious past.

Yo, Disney! With BOOM! Studios you've also got books like Cullen Bunn's The Unsound and James Tynion IV's The Woods that you could be involved with. Don't slack on this opportunity, and get on board, dammit! While I'm still not sure in how I feel about the Fox-Disney merger, I do know that some of the above-listed projects have been stuck in development hell for quite some time. It'd be cool if Disney stepped in to finance some of these potentially awesome projects, and began making a name for themselves outside of the realm of Marvel's superhero epics.

We'll have to wait and see if Disney decides to explore their newly acquired stake in BOOM! Studios, though in my personal opinion, they'd be crazy not to bring at least a few of the publisher's properties to screen. After all, it's not like they can't afford to take a few gambles, right?