Dan Dare is a British institution, one of our few iconic comic book creations and though his fame has not spread far beyond these shores in the 60 odd years since its inception, it looks as though the Pilot of the Future is now heading to the big screen courtesy of Warner Bros.
The news from Pajiba, via /Film, is that man of the momentum Sam Worthington has signed on to portray the man himself, which is good news for the (supposed) franchise WB have in mind, as the lack of cultural permeation for Dare means that this film will need a big star to draw in the audiences.
One of my 5 UK comic book movies I want to see, Dan Dare has followed his transatlantic comic strip heroes and undergone a number of revisions over the years, and it is likely to be the Garth Ennis/Virgin iteration is the most likely to find its way to the silver screen, and this will be a far cry from the original Dare, who was definitely a product of his post war, ‘jolly good show’ time.
While often referred to as a British Buck Rogers, the Dare of Ennis is a darker affair, and growing up with this character and his nemesis, the enormo-foreheaded Mekon, I am really looking forward to this one.
