Invincible’s Live-Action Movie Faces 10 Challenges Adapting The Story

Invincible is coming to the big screen as a live-action adaptation, but the latest reimagining of the comic book series won’t come without its challenges. Robert Kirkman’s Invincible will be added to the droves of cinematic superhero tales, and it’s causing a lot of excitement. However, there’s still very little known about the project, including whether the Invincible season 2 cast will be replaced for the film. Everything from the movie’s plot to its release date remains a thing of conjecture at this point, but Kirkman and crew have reassured fans that the live-action Invincible movie is still happening.

The first issue of Invincible was published in 2003 by Image Comics. The saga came to its conclusion in 2018 and Amazon first aired its TV adaption three years later in 2021. Despite the TV show being the first to be put into production, the Invincible movie was actually greenlit back in 2017. The adaptation process would appear to be a difficult one, with those involved having to make some important and difficult decisions on how to take the project forward. While certain issues may have quick and easy fixes, others require much more thought.

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10 Movie Runtimes Aren’t Sufficient To Tell Invincible’s Story

The Invincible TV show is a better format for the tale

Although the prospect of a live-action Invincible movie is compelling, even the longest feature-length films rarely exceed three hours. This isn’t a long enough period to tell the story from the comics. Invincible season 1 is made up of eight one-hour episodes, and even then, the installment only really reaches the end of the main character’s origin story. While it’s unlikely that the movie will even attempt to tackle the entire comic run in one go, it will still need to leave out a lot of detail due to the restrictive nature of the movie format.

This isn’t to say that movie franchises can’t tell longer, epic stories. Properties such as Star Wars and the MCU are proof that movies can be used as a vehicle for long-form storytelling, but Invincible is currently nowhere near big enough to justify such a huge body of work being commissioned. If more than one film had already been confirmed, the concern would be reduced. However, at present, only one Invincible movie is coming.

9 The Violence In The Animated Invincible Show May Not Translate To Live-Action

The Invincible movie could quickly become too gory

Despite the show’s misleading Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic, Invincible isn’t suitable for children. There are plenty of brutal moments in Invincible season 1, with no shortage of bloodshed and mangled bodies. However, the violence is a huge part of the show’s identity, and part of the reason why it works so well is its juxtaposition against the squeaky-clean animation. Removing the gore from the equation for the live-action movie would change the feel of the Invincible universe too much. On the other hand, a more realistic depiction of the blood and guts could be a step too far.

8 Many Invincible Characters Have Designs That Could Be Difficult To Replicate In Live-Action

The adaptation would require a heavy dose of CGI

Invincible has plenty of characters that are human or at least human-looking. Certain figures, such as Invincible and Omni-Man, will mainly require a superhero suit to reflect their comic book origins. Many of the other characters will need extensive redesigns in order to work in a live-action movie. The jump from the pages of a comic book to an animated TV show isn’t too extreme, but live-action versions of those same characters would call for a drastic reimagining.

Seeing select Invincible characters through a realistic lens is certainly a thrilling prospect, but a great deal of them will likely be heavily reliant on CGI. At a certain point, it seems pointless to make a live-action movie at all if so much of the new version just takes the form of a different kind of animation. Modern cinema is no stranger to the use of CGI, but a newer movie isn’t often associated with a successful animated counterpart like Invincible is.

7 It Will Be A Tough Call To Recast The Characters So Soon (But It’ll Be Necessary)

The voice actors for the Invincible TV show are doing a great job

The Invincible TV show is only 3 years old, but those voicing the characters have already become closely associated with their respective roles. For instance, it’s already difficult to imagine JK Simmons’ iconic voice not leaving the throat of Omni-Man. Unfortunately, for various reasons, many of the voice cast wouldn’t be suited to playing their live-action counterparts.

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Invincible’s Live-Action Movie Has A Huge Casting Problem (Yes, It’s Omni-Man)

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One of the main issues is that much of the current cast is much older than their respective characters. For context, Steven Yeun, who voices the teenaged Mark Grayson, is in his forties. There is a very similar disparity between Gillian Jacobs and her role as Atom Eve. As such, new actors would need to be cast to embody the live-action invincible characters more accurately. While this is technically a very achievable task, it’s a shame to see the current actors swept aside.

6 The Invincible Live-Action Movie Will Need To Decide On Whether It Shares A Canon With The TV Show

Invincible fans could be in for a multiversal affair

Another active on-screen Invincible project will beg the question of how the two are related, if at all. Multiverse stories are currently very popular, especially in superhero franchises. The Invincible show and the movie will inevitably have a lot of crossover due to being generated from the same source material, but it needs to be established whether those similarities are incidental or intentional.

Similarly, the movie needs to make it clear whether it’s part of the same continuity as the TV show, even if it’s in a parallel universe. A confirmed relationship between the two different versions of Invincible would undoubtedly be exciting, but it’s also a concept that’s a little played out at the moment. As such, the writers have a difficult call regarding whether to separate the live-action Invincible movie from the rest of the franchise.

5 There’ll Be No Shortage Of Competition From Other Superhero Movie Franchises

The Invincible movie will need to choose its moment carefully

It’s no secret that superhero movies are still incredibly popular. With the MCU still in full swing and the DCU being rebooted by James Gunn, the market is just as saturated as ever. Invincible may be very popular in certain circles, but the franchise is a while off becoming a household name. Therefore, if the film were to be released too close to other landmark superhero movies, it stands the chance of being swallowed up and ignored. If the movie flops, then a sequel becomes much less likely, so timing is key.

4 Choosing A Director For The Invincible Movie

The person in the director’s chair will have a huge impact on the final product

Robert Kirkman, the writer of the original Invincible comics, is also involved with the TV show. The fact that Kirkman is also involved in the live-action Invincible movie shows that the writer is rightfully very protective of his creation. While he isn’t a director himself, Kirkman will likely have a say regarding the choice of director for the project. The issue here is that choosing a director for the movie isn’t a simple decision. There will be many people ready and willing to take the job, but someone very specific needs to fill the role.

The logical move would be to hire a director with experience of making a superhero movie. However, doing so could result in a finished product that’s too similar to its competitors. Inversely, giving the job to a director with no history in the genre could equally damage the movie. There needs to be careful consideration of all the eligible directors to create the best film possible.

3 Deciding How The Movie Will Be Rated

Making the Invincible movie R-rated would limit its audience

With a new franchise, it’s important to have the first entry seen by as many people as possible. Unfortunately, Invincible‘s adult nature would mean a direct adaptation being too inappropriate for anything other than an R rating. This would reduce the audience size before the movie is even released. As a result, the creative team will have the difficult decision of whether they should compromise the reworking by omitting the extreme violence and sexual themes. An R-rated Invincible movie would be more faithful to the source material, but making it more child-friendly would broaden the appeal. It’s a tough call.

2 The Story In The Invincible Movie May Have To Be Different To The Show (& The Comics)

Fans may not be interested in seeing a second retelling of the same story

Currently, there are two ways to interact with Invincible. If the comic book fans have seen the show, then they’ll know that while some minor changes were made, the overall story remained the same. Starting a live-action arm of the franchise would mean Kirkman telling the same story for the third time. Retreading the same narrative ground could prevent some existing fans from watching what is essentially another reboot so shortly after the debut of the TV show.

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To avoid this, the movie’s writers would have to make some notable changes to the source material to justify its creation. As history proves, this isn’t always a popular decision among franchise purists. However, difficult and divisive moves such as this can be pivotal in making a successful adaptation. The conundrum becomes choosing which section of the existing fan base to appease.

1 Interest In A Live-Action Invincible Movie Could Diminish Due To Excessive Delays

The project still isn’t off the ground

Due to the popularity of the Invincible TV show, interest in the franchise has never been higher. If the live-action movie were to be released in the next year or so, then it would be very likely to do well. However, fans have short memories and an unforgiving attention span. In addition, the lack of information on the project would imply it isn’t that far along, despite its already lengthy production cycle.

While the team behind the live-action Invincible movie will want to make sure they develop the best possible idea, they have to also bear in mind that they’re keeping people waiting. Excessive delays can breed disdain, and taking so long to bring Mark Grayson’s Invincible powers into cinemas could mean the movie isn’t released until after Invincible‘s current spell in the spotlight comes to an end.