Lobo Screenwriter Hopes to Capture Comic Character’s Spirit

Lobo screenwriter Jason Fuchs is hoping to capture the true spirit of the comic book character. The long-awaited film has been stuck in development hell for almost a decade, but it looks like it’s finally getting underway. Warner Bros. first attempted to bring the antihero – created by writer Roger Slifer and artist Keith Giffen in 1983 – to life on the big screen in 2009. Guy Ritchie was announced to be directing the project shortly before his Sherlock Holmes film hit theaters. But rather than move onto Lobo after the film released, Ritchie decided to helm Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows instead, thus shelving the project.

Lobo was eventually picked up by Brad Peyton a few years later, who wanted Dwayne Johnson to star in the title role. But Peyton also ended up abandoning the project, and Johnson switched from being an intergalactic bounty hunter to the ancient Egyptian, Black Adam. Still, Lobo has always been on Warner Bros.’ mind, through thick and thin, which is why they are now bringing the film back into the spotlight. Transformers filmmaker Michael Bay is currently being courted by WB to helm the live-action film, though Lobo‘s greenlight is dependent on cutting its bloated budget. And the person responsible for doing that is Fuchs.

Related: Michael Bay Being Considered To Direct DC’s Lobo

While not much is known about Lobo‘s story and concept at this point, Jason Fuchs did share some of his intentions for the film in a recent interview with LRM Online. He said:

“I think when you’re working on comic book characters, especially ones that are near and dear to my heart, like Wonder Woman and Lobo are, you want to create something that’s true to what the original text are. I think Wonder Woman really captures the feeling of — not only the original Moulton Marston comics, but the George Perez run in the late-’80s. It feels like reading those comics up on the big screen. So for something like Lobo, without saying too much about it, it’ll feel, I imagine, quite different because the Lobo comic itself is quite different. What Keith Giffen and Alan Grant put together was something really unique, and hopefully, we’ll capture some of that same spirit when we make the movie.”

Fuchs brings up Wonder Woman because he co-wrote the story alongside Zack Snyder (who produced the film) and Allan Heinberg, who also wrote the movie’s screenplay. What’s interesting is that Fuchs was put onto Lobo several months before Wonder Woman released. So, that shows that Warner Bros. was happy enough with Fuchs’ ideas for Wonder Woman that they asked him to bring Lobo off the backburner. Unfortunately, it seems his script would require an enormous $200+ million production budget, something neither WB nor Bay are satisfied with.

Lobo is currently being rewritten by Fuchs with the studio looking at Bay to helm the project. It’s unclear when Fuchs will be done with his rewrite, but at least Lobo fans can rest assured knowing the project is on Warners’ mind and getting the character right is not only a priority for them but for the screenwriter as well.

More: 15 Things You Never Knew About Lobo