WARNING: The following interview may contain spoilers for the I Kill Giants movie, in theaters and available via digital download now, and the Image Comics series which inspired it.


If you've never read Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura’s critically acclaimed comic I Kill Giants, you're going to want to fix that, ASAP. Published by Image Comics and Man of Action in 2008, it tells the story of Barbara Thorson, a geeky, misfit middle-schooler, who'd rather be reading her Dungeon Master handbook than doing her math homework or taking part in P.E. Oh - and she hunts and kills giants in her spare time. At least, that's what she tells her new friend, Sophia.

Kelly and Niimura’s series is the most recent comic to make the leap from printed page to a major motion picture. Directed by Academy Award winner Anders Walter, and starring Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots, Madison Wolfe and Sydney Wade, its screenplay was written by Kelly himself. Ahead of the film's release, CBR spoke with Kelly about I Kill Giants's journey from comic book to the silver screen, and how he kept his movie script true to the original story.

RELATED: I Kill Giants Film Adaptation Drops First Trailer.


CBR: How did you get involved with the project? Were you approached to write the script, or was this something you had already been working on?

Joe Kelly: I had written a draft of a film version of I Kill Giants immediately after completing the comic script. The story was burning for me, and I had to refine it and get it out. Originally, I thought it might make a nice spec script for something else.

Once the producers started asking about turning the book into a film, I had that script as a sample. More importantly, though, I told everyone I met that I was going to be the only person who touched the script. It’s that important to me, and I was willing to walk away rather than let anyone else write the film. Luckily, everyone saw that I knew how to write and that I was not an insane person to work with, and soon I had a small army of people protecting me and the story. It was amazing.

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You’ve had plenty of experience writing for comics and television, so how does that compare to your process writing for film?

There are a lot of similarities. I like to outline a lot to make sure the structure is sound. I focus on visual storytelling, etc. That said, the differences are huge. In a comic script you can take your time and explain every noodly bit you want to your artist. Film writing is punchy and tight and strict. There’s an art to making it a compelling read and not just a blueprint, but there are constraints that you have to adhere to simply to be considered professional. Animation is actually lighter in some ways because you want the board artists to have room to play, but you need to be extremely clear as the script will be cut up and spread out amongst many people.

From a story point of view, though, it’s all the same. Is there a solid beginning middle and end? Are these characters real? Would I sit down and watch this thing I’m writing? You’d think this last one is obvious, but oftentimes people are trying to “sell” rather than “create”. You can do both, but my focus is on the emotional aspect of the writing first, then the candy later.

How faithful is the film script to your comic script? Were you able to add things that you had originally cut from the comic due to space, or change up things you weren’t happy with?

We began with a strict adaptation and then with Anders’ help I started carving away at scenes that would “break the movie.” That’s to say that there are things that you can do in a comic because of the relationship between reader and book that fall apart once they are concretized in film.

Since the story is told from Barbara’s point of view, anything that might call the wrong kind of attention to her story had to go. That said, those scenes served a purpose – they reflected Barbra’s internal emotional life, so we replaced them with other bits. Of course, you always hate to kill your darlings, but it was for the betterment of the film. People who have read the book will get the same ride but in a slightly different way. They are great companions to one another, I think.

RELATED: I Kill Giants Movie Debuts First Footage.

I Kill Giants is one of the most critically acclaimed comics of the last decade. Was there any pressure in living up to the bar you’d set?

That’s very kind of you to say! The only pressure I felt was to the story. It means a lot to the fans and I wanted to protect it for them, sure. But it’s a bigger thing. We know that the story works as is. It elicits an emotional response from readers. It’s a beautiful thing to speak to someone who has internalized Barbara’s struggles as their own and used the book in some small way to help see them through. It’s one of the things that I am most proud of in my career. So starting the journey of the film, that was my focus – protect the story. I’m not kidding when I say that I met folks who said they would be interested in the film if Barbara killed a hundred giants in a bloody action extravaganza!

Luckily, everyone involved in the film, from Anders to the Producers to the Financiers to the Cast and Crew, they all understood that we were doing something different and aspiring to something special. I think that care shows on the screen.

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What was the original inspiration for I Kill Giants? Was Barbara’s story influenced by something you’d experienced?

Yes, in a way. This gets into spoiler territory, so I’ll keep it vague. Something started happening over a decade ago that got me thinking about the big issues of life. At the same time, my kids were very little, and I was trying to guide my daughter towards all of the geeky stuff I loved. She is a smart and sassy kid, and I started thinking about what she might be like, a little older, facing life’s big questions armed only with the tools of fantasy. That was the genesis of the story.

Did it feel weird getting back into the specific headspace of writing I Kill Giants almost a decade later?

No, only exciting. From the second I wrote the comic, I Kill Giants has been a very significant piece of my work. It’s always with me in one way or another – not the least of which is my Barbara tattoo! So going back to the story with such talented people was like going home.

RELATED: First Look At I Kill Giants Film Starring Zoe Saldana.

The original comic does a really great job of keeping the reader unsure about whether what they’re seeing is real or if it’s Barbara's imagination. Was it hard trying to keep that line blurred in the adaptation?

Not with the help of Anders Walter. He was excellent at coming to the story with an objective eye and helping to guide the script so that he had the proper foundation upon which to build the film. Anders is excellent at presenting his films in a way that’s grounded and magical at the same time. You can see it in 9 Meter and his Academy Award winning Helium. Also, our DP, Rasmus Heise has an amazing eye. His camerawork kept that line very blurry. As I said before, keeping things in Barbara’s POV is critical, so everyone worked diligently to maintain that balance between reality and fantasy.

Dungeons & Dragons plays a major part in the comic’s story, and we’ve seen a resurgence of the game in pop culture over the last few years. Why do you think D&D has remained so popular for so many decades?

People love to tell stories and they love to use their imaginations. I am a huge fan of video games, but they just don’t hold a candle to the experience of a well-spun campaign shared by friends. D&D provides a visceral experience for people – live in a room together, relying on their imagination and intuition. It’s a blast and refreshing, I think to exercise those primal creative parts of the brain.

How do you think a film about escapism and being strong enough to face your problems fits into 2018?

I think it’s critical, frankly. I know that the last 365 days have been challenging for me on a lot of levels. I have found myself faced with issues big and small and looking for strength all over the place. And some escape too. The problem is you never truly escape from the things we’re afraid of unless we hit them head on. And, we’re better equipped to do that than we are often led to believe. If Barbara’s journey helps affirm that for anyone through this film, then we’ve done our job.

Now that you’ve got this film under your belt, are there any superheroes you’d be interested in tackling for a big-screen adaptation (pre-existing franchise or otherwise)?

In a perfect world, I’d love to get my Image book Four Eyes up and running as a series. I think the time is ripe for it and I’d love to pursue it. As far as the Big Two, there are too many to count, but The Spectre, Plastic Man and the Micronauts come to mind.


I Kill Giants is now in theaters, and is available On Demand and Digital HD.