Mark Millar’s bloody comic book Kick-Ass is headed to the big screen with actor Nicolas Cage attached to the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is being directed by Matthew Vaughn, who made a star of Daniel Craig with his debut feature, Layer Cake, and went on to adapt the Neil Gaiman novel Stardust for the screen last year.
Young Brit Aaron Johnson (The Thief Lord) will play the lead role, a high school dweeb who decides to become a superhero despite lacking super powers or any kind of athletic ability. He becomes a YouTube sensation when his rescue of a mugging victim is captured by a cell phone, and sets up a MySpace page where people in need can enlist his services. He eventually crosses paths with Cage’s character, an ex-cop who has trained his daughter (Chloe Moretz) to be a lethal weapon and help him take down a ruthless druglord. Lyndsy Fonseca (Desperate Housewives) has been cast as the young hero’s long-time crush, who thinks he’s gay. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, whom audiences know best as Mc Lovin’ in Superbad, has also committed to appear in the film.
Illustrated by John Romita Jr., the Kick-Ass comic is published by Marvel Comics’ Icon imprint. The launch was promoted with a YouTube video of Kick-Ass in costume stopping a mugging, as well as a real MySpace page for the character.
Filming is set to begin this fall in London and Toronto. Produced by Vaughn and his Marv Films partner, Kris Thykier, along with David Reed. is being financed independently as many studios balked at the bloody nature of the project. David Reed is also producing.
Cage, a big comic-book fan who derived his stage name from the Marvel character Luke Cage, starred in the 2006 movie based on Marvel’s Ghost Rider. He also created the Virgin Comics series Voodoo Child with his son, Weston. The actor next appears in the Pang brothers’ action thriller Bangkok Dangerous.
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