After a years-long effort to bring Marvel’s Gambit to the big screen proved fruitless, Channing Tatum will finally enter the world of comic book adaptations with Sam Kieth’s The Maxx. The cult classic comic last graced television screens in the mid-’90s and has been conspicuously absent among an ever-expanding slate of superhero cinema in recent years.

First published by Image Comics in 1993, The Maxx follows the adventures of a box-dwelling, homeless man who, upon entering a second/alternate reality known as the Outback, takes on the body and persona of the titular character - a powerful, purple-clad hero. In the Outback, the Maxx is tasked with battling Mr. Gone and protecting the Jungle Queen, whose real-world counterpart is Julie Winters, a social worker often called upon to get the Maxx out of bad situations (i.e. incarceration).

News of the latest iteration of The Maxx comes via The Hollywood Reporter. Per THR’s Borys Kit, Tatum will team up with producer Roy Lee (The Disaster Artist, How to Train Your Dragon) on a screen treatment through their respective production companies, Free Association and Vertigo Entertainment. Kieth will also produce along with his partner, Tal Vigderson.

At this juncture, it’s unknown whether The Maxx will return as a series or a feature-length film; decisions are still being made on the best way to proceed. The last time it graced screens of any kind was in 1995 as part of MTV’s Oddities slate. The original Maxx mini-series aired 13 episodes and, along with The Head and Aeon Flux, was one of the cult hits that differentiated MTV’s unique brand of animated programs from the standard fare of the time.

If Tatum approaches The Maxx with the same ferocity that he did with Gambit, chances may be good that comic fans will see this project come to fruition. Ultimately, the Disney-Fox merger seems to have done the X-Men spin-off in despite the best efforts of the Magic Mike star and People’s Choice Award winner. After a lengthy development cycle, Disney essentially pulled the plug on Gambit in May of this year.

News of The Maxx redux also comes at a time when ’90s nostalgia is running strong. The original comic book series came at a time when Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane were cementing themselves as industry icons with Image and while The Maxx didn’t match McFarlane’s Spawn in terms of cultural impact, it certainly holds a certain level of cache with hobbyists.

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Source: THR