Comics
Lionsgate Expanding the ‘Living Dead’ Universe with ‘Z-Men’
The universe surrounding Night of the Living Dead is about to see a whole lot more investigation as it’s been announced that Lionsgate has teamed up with the comic book publisher Double Take to make a film adaptation of “Z-Men“, which is written by Jeff McComsey.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger excitedly state:
We’re delighted to expand our relationship with our friends at Take-Two by partnering with their comic book arm, Double Take, in bringing Z-Men to the big screen. We continue to diversify our portfolio with films adapted from novels, video games and board games and look forward to translating 2T’s graphic novel into a spine-chilling film for moviegoers and comic book fans alike. It is yet another example of the strong underlying intellectual property on which our film and television content is based.
“Z-Men” follows two government agents who are sent to Pennsylvania in response to a zombie outbreak. We brought readers a chance to read the first comic for free.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Lionsgate, who has the right team to bring to life on screen what Double Take brings to life in comics,” said Double Take General Manager Bill Jemas. “We look forward to seeing Lionsgate’s creativity transform the Z-Men story into an exciting feature film, and everyone on the Double Take team is incredibly enthused at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.“
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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