Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is one of the most narratively rich graphic novel series ever dreamed up, combining iconic literary characters such as The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, Mina Harker, and Allan Quartermain seamlessly in a unique and adventurous world. That's why it was so disappointing when Stephen Norrington adapted it into such an ordinary movie, one Moore wasn't too pleased with, and was even less thrilled over the lawsuit by screenwriter Larry Cohen that followed. The concept always seemed better suited for a TV series, anyway, and 20th Century Fox have now committed themselves to bringing it to the small screen.
According to THR, Fox have made a "put pilot" commitment on the new series, which basically means there will be a financial penalty if it never hits the airwaves, all but guaranteeing we will see it at some point. The new series will have Heroes, Smallville, and Green Lantern writer Michael Green as showrunner, which can be looked at as either a positive or a negative. The new series is officially described as...
“A drama series based on Alan Moore’s critically and commercially successful graphic novel series about a group of Victorian-age literary characters, including Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who team up to fight a common enemy.”
Fox could be looking at this as their own counter to ABC's Agents of SHIELD, positioning it as a Victorian-era superhero team up, which would be an unfortunate decision that would lessen the complexity of the world Moore was able to create. It also comes as Showtime is developing Penny Dreadful, a series led by Skyfall's Sam Mendes and John Logan and The Impossible director J.A. Bayona, that uses much the same premise. We can probably expect that one to be considerably darker, too. So if Fox is smart they may want to try and make nice with Moore and get his creative input.
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