The Maxx: Channing Tatum’s Image Comics adaptation is still in the works

Four years have gone by since it was announced that Channing Tatum was teaming up with It producer Roy Lee to develop an adaptation of the Image Comics property The Maxx – and while that would sometimes be enough time to for us to assume a project has fallen by the wayside, apparently that’s not the case here. Tatum has taken to social media to confirm that The Maxx is still in the works, and to express his excitement for the project.

Tatum wrote, “Oh my god I’m so excited for this I can’t even explain. The Maxx!!!! This is a childhood love of mine. The truly brilliant genius creation of Sam Kieth. When I was grounded and wasn’t allowed to watch TV this was the cartoon on MTV’s Oddities I would risk it all for. Sneak out of bed and put it on and pray I didn’t get caught. Even now after all this time it feels somehow still ahead of its time. The characters in this… the Maxx, Julie Winters, and Mr. Gone taught me things about life life. Seeded complex ideas in my young mind that had a profound effect on how I viewed the world and the roles we play. That I only intellectually understood way later. I can’t wait to bring this to life and try and bring it to generations that miss it.“

As Tatum mentioned, The Maxx was created by writer/illustrator Sam Kieth. It followed the adventures of The Maxx, who appears in both the real world and an alternate reality, the Outback. In the real world, he is a homeless man living in a box but in the Outback, he is a powerful masked being who is the protector of the Jungle Queen. In the real world, the latter is a social worker named Julie Winters who frequently works to help the homeless man, unaware that the alternate reality exists and is exerting a dangerous influence on her life.

The initial run of The Maxx ran from 1993 to 1998, for a total of 35 issues. The animated series adaptation ran for 13 episodes and aired in 1995. The Maxx returned for a five issue crossover with Batman in 2018.

According to industry scooper DanielRPK, Tatum’s The Maxx adaptation is a feature film that’s set up at Paramount, with Crystal Moselle on board to write and direct. Moselle’s previous credits include the documentaries The Wolfpack and Sophia, the drama Skate Kitchen, and the TV series Betty.

Are you interested in seeing what Channing Tatum, Roy Lee, and Crystal Moselle are going to be doing with The Maxx? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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