Timur Bekmambetov, the director of Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is spearheading a cinematic horror universe based on the work of Marvel Comics' Stan Lee.
According to Deadline, Bekmambetov (under his Bazelevs production banner) is teaming with ZQ Entertainment and the late Lee's POW! Entertainment to develop Sawbones and Carnival of Killers. Matt Greenberg is penning the script for the former and Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer the latter.
"There is no other mastermind who has created more successful entertainment than Stan Lee," Bekmambetov said. "I’m excited to bring to the screen the darker side of his creative genius and imagination."
"Some fans may not know this, but Stan Lee wrote several horror comicbook series in the 1940s and 1950s before superhero comics became big in the 1960s," POW! Entertainment President Gill Champion added. "Stan relished revisiting the genre a few years ago when he wrote these stories, and we are excited to bring them to life with a director as visionary as Timur Bekmambetov. We think fans will be surprised to experience a darker side of Stan Lee that they’ve never witnessed before!"
POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment was founded by Lee and Champion in 2001 and was used to develop non-Marvel films, television shows and video games. In the years before Lee's death, POW! was purchased by Camsing International Holding, and Lee subsequently filed a $1 billion lawsuit against POW! for allegedly stealing his identity. The company quickly responded, saying, "the notion that Mr. Lee did not knowingly grant POW! Entertainment the exclusive rights to his creative works or his identity is so preposterous that the Company has to wonder whether Mr. Lee is personally behind this lawsuit."
The suit was dropped in July 2018, at which time Lee said, "The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans, but I am now happy to be surrounded by those who want the best for me. I am thrilled to put the lawsuit behind me, get back to business with my friends and colleagues at POW! and launch the next wave of amazing characters and stories!"
Source: Deadline