Comic book icon Ed Brubaker is returning to the small screen with an adaptation of his Eisner Award-winning series Criminal, which has been green-lit by Amazon Prime Video. Debuting in 2006 and originally published by Marvel Comics, Criminal is a gritty crime series that follows the stories of low-level thieves, robbers, and various other seedy characters. The series has been praised for its clever writing and edgy style, and it is best known for utilizing the cliches of the crime genre in a wholly original way.

In an era of comic book movie and TV show dominance, Prime Video’s decision to adapt Brubaker’s comics reaffirms the streamer’s dedication to offering an alternative view. Prime Video has found great success with the show The Boys and its various spinoffs, and the aforementioned superhero comic is very much a dissection of its genre, much in the same way Criminal tackles its subject. Though the project has long been gestating, its official green light from Prime Video is a sign that it will be on screens sooner rather than later.

Prime Video’s Criminal Latest News

A Major Cast Member Is Announced

The long-simmering comic adaptation has taken another big step with the announcement that Andor star Adria Arjona has joined the cast of Criminal. Arjona will play the role of Greta, a skilled car thief and getaway driver who is out for one last score to take care of her daughter. Arjona is only the second cast member to join the series after the announcement that Richard Jenkins has been tapped to play the role of Ivan. The first season is presumably adapting the first Criminal storyline “Coward”, but the lead role of Leo has yet to be cast.

Prime Video’s Criminal Is Confirmed

Prime Video Announced The Project In 2024

News that Criminal was being developed into a TV series began coming in early 2023, but due to various delays as a result of the Hollywood strikes, Prime Video officially green-lit the project in early 2024. Perhaps the biggest challenge for an adaptation of a comic like Criminal is finding a way to shrink the story down to a digestible TV script. As such, Ed Brubaker’s involvement in the project guarantees that the show will honor the legacy of the award-winning comic series that defined indie comics in the early 2000s.

Who Is Making Criminal For Prime Video?

The Original Comic Creator Is Involved

Ed Brubaker is perhaps best known for his Winter Soldier arc in Marvel Comics, but the pulp maven also won awards for works such as Criminal. Because of his closeness to the material, Brubaker has been involved with the project from day one, and he even wrote the screenplay for the premiere episode. Brubaker will serve as co-showrunner alongside Jordan Harper who has worked on shows like Gotham in a similar capacity.

Prime Video’s Criminal Cast

Adria Arjona Leads An Ensemble Cast

Though all the details about the cast aren’t known yet, two big names have already been added that make Prime Video’s Criminal adaptation very interesting. The first name added to the ensemble was that of Richard Jenkins who will play the role of Ivan. Ivan is an aging criminal whose battle with dementia has made him unable to perform his illegal activities. The second major role cast thus far is that of Greta, a skilled carjacker and getaway driver who is out for one more big score so that she can take care of her daughter. The role has gone to Andor star Adria Arjona.

The known cast of Prime Video’s Criminal includes:

Prime Video’s Criminal Story

So Many Sinful Deeds To Adapt In The Prime Video Series

The story of Criminal is not so much one story as many interconnected tales that take place within the same gritty and pessimistic universe. Brubaker himself described Criminal as “the interweaving saga of several generations of families tied together by crimes and murders of the past“, and that gives a good hint as to how the series will be as well. Though it is unclear which of the comic’s familiar characters will appear, viewers can expect heists, murders, and a slew of other unsavory deeds.

While the actual events of the story are exciting on the surface, they are ultimately in service of the overarching themes that Brubaker so cleverly injected into the subtext. Similar to the way The Boys picks apart superhero stories, Criminal analyzes the crime genre and uses cliches and tropes to make commentary about society in a way that the usual comic books never bother to attempt.