The long-stalled adaptation of ElfQuest may be revived by the duo behind a well-received fan trailer for the fantasy epic.

Variety reports producers Stephanie Thorpe and Paula Rhodes announced at American Film Market that they have acquired the film rights to the beloved 35-year-old comic series by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini.

"With their deep love and understanding of the property, they represent a new direction for ElfQuest ... new creative energy and new connections in the larger media," Wendy Pini said. Thorpe and Rhodes created ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining, a live-action short that's made the rounds at conventions.

Warner Bros. bought the rights to ElfQuest in 2008 but abandoned its plans early this year, citing a desire not to compete with Peter Jackson's big-budget adaptation of The Hobbit. This was a possibility, among several, that we were prepared for," Wendy Pini wrote at the time. "It is a relief, at last, to know.”

Created in 1978, ElfQuest developed a dedicated fanbase that followed the creators and the characters from the 21-issue “Original Quest” to numerous sequels and spinoffs. The Pinis published Elfquest through their WaRP Graphics label for 25 years before licensing all publishing and merchandising rights to DC Comics in 2003. That agreement ended in 2007. A new series, called ElfQuest: The Final Quest, began serialization in September on Boing Boing.