BBC Online posts new Captain Britain TV rumour article.

Over the course of the weekend the BBC has posted up a new Captain Britain article, relating to the recent TV rumours. Full disclosure, I did give a phone interview to the author of the piece, Nic Rigby, a couple of weeks back, and while my comments haven't made it into the piece directly I suppose you could say I have a vested interest in this. :)

While there are a few minor errors here (The "Red Skull gang" or "Braddock Hall" rather than Manor) it is a far better researched article than tabloid pieces we saw during the initial flurry of interest in the Rumour. Most importantly Rigby has spoken to both Chris Claremont and also prospective Producer, Chris Lark. 

Claremont describes Brian as always trying "to represent the ideal of Britain and its island heritage, like Robin Hood, but he must never lose sight of his humanity. He wants to do the right thing."

And on that I would very much agree. Trying to do the right thing. Sometimes to a fault. :)

But more interestingly Chris Claremont also proffers his opinion on casting the role for TV. The two actors he suggested being Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba.

Of Hiddleston he says he "...could offer a physicality to the part yet pull off the human side of the role," but also "Who is to say Captain Britain would have to be white? We could have Idris Elba as Captain Britain."

The obvious drawback to both the suggestions however, is that both of these actors are already playing roles within Marvel's cinematic universe - Hiddleston rather iconically playing the trickster Loki and Elba playing Heimdall, the Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge. Both appearing in multiple Thor movies. 

One thing I did say in conversation with Nic Rigby, though, was that I think the whole Captain Britain Corps concept lends itself to showing not one, but many facets of what Captain Britain can be. That potentially, through that, you can showcase the whole spectrum of British identity, as individual Captains from different worlds.

I mean, Brian Braddock himself is clearly a middle-class white guy, blonde, blue eyed and English. That's the guy who comic fans expect to see. That's your standard. But through showcasing other Captains (be those created anew or trying to use previously established ones) we can showcase a full spectrum of roles and aspects of the British psyche. Scottish Captains, Welsh Captains, Northern Irish Captains. Captains from different classes, different social backgrounds. Captains of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds. 

There are so many different cultural sections of modern Britain. You could never fit them all into one individual. But as a team, as a Corps, there are many more options available there.

I still believe that we should be aiming for relatively close match the comics' Brian. Somebody of a similar age to the other major cinematic players (as I've said in the past, somebody like Jamie Bamber would probably be my pick) would be beneficial. But it depends on the approach taken from a TV point of view, I guess.

Most interestingly though, Nic Rigby has spoken to Chris Lark, the would be producer for the show. Which oddly, I don't think anybody else has done up to this point. I was certainly a little interested to know what his main connection to the character was. 

Lark has said "I was first a fan of a fan of the X-Men comics and I read Excalibur magazine that all my friends were reading and it featured Captain Britain. And I wanted to find out more and more about Captain Britain and bought his solo series of comics".

And for American readers that is the typical experience. Excalibur was the route in, which (hopefully) would lead to hunting down other stories. 

He describes Brian as, "He was not just a traditional hero like Captain America who runs around with his shield, he's much more interesting... He was a scientist that had these magical powers that he could not explain as a scientist. Like a lot of Marvel heroes, he is not all sunshine and happiness".

Well, that might ease the concerns a little of those worried that a US producer might not *get* the character of Captain Britain. At its very basics that would be a relatively strong overview of the character.

However, we are still talking in terms of "...looking to put the idea to Marvel early in 2017". There is no deal in place. Probably no meeting for that, as such. We'll have to wait and see if anything else comes from this.

Check the piece out. I always see the mark of a true story as being once the BBC get a hold of it. So, we've reached *that* point. Marvel Entertainment? It's over to you. :)

Ciara McAvoy teases new image from prospective Captain Britain TV Pitch.

You may remember a few weeks back that I posted about the image online which sparked a Captain Britain TV series rumour, but which in the end turned out to actually be artwork for a TV pitch, from two rookie Producers, who were hoping someday next year to get to show it to Marvel Entertainment.

Well, the poster artist (Caira McAvoy) who they have hired to produce artwork for their 'highlight reel' has over the weekend revealed a new work in progress image of the facial likeness she is working with:

Look familiar to anybody? Can't say that it instantly does, to me. Although I can say that I'm not really sold on the headgear. I've always preferred to see Brian's headwear as a solid framed helmet rather than a cloth cowl, which is certainly what this looks more like. 

McAvoy herself has teased us a little info on her muse for this image:

So let the speculation begin. 

Although, I still wouldn't get too excited about this, yet. Even with the artwork there is no actor in place, there is no series. It's a pitch which this team hope to get an audience with Marvel Entertainment to pitch sometime next year. 

Nothing is at all approaching plausible just yet...

Thoughts on that Captain Britain TV series rumour.

Greetings, under-attended It Came From Darkmoor reader. It probably won't have escaped your notice that it has been a while.

One of the central problems of running a Blog such as this (which since its inception has been a Marvel UK 'News Site') is that in order for it to function as originally intended there also has to be some actual news to report.

And to be brutally honest, this past 6 months, that is something which has really not been quite as readily forthcoming as I would have hoped.

I look back to March last year, and Captain Britain on the front cover of the upcoming (at that time) Secret Wars #2, wielding that ridiculously massive sword. I recall the hope I had at that time that Brian (or Jamie for that matter) Braddock might finally be getting the opportunity to play a proper, tangible, role in a Marvel crossover event. That a significant front of center positioning on that #2 cover would therefore lead to playing a further role in that storyline.

As we now know, that was not to be.

I think back to San Diego Comic Con in July, and noting with enthusiasm that Death's Head was visible on a slide of other characters slated to be given books in 'All-New All-Different' Marvel.

Hercules, The Black Knight, Starbrand, Nightmask, Red Wolf... There were some relatively obscure names up there. But now having seen several of those titles not only having launched, but in some cases now also been cancelled (The Black Knight cancelled all too soon), there is no sign of Old Horn-head alongside them.

That's all gone very quiet, unfortunately.

Well, now it's 2016. This coming October marks the 40th Anniversary of the first issue of Captain Britain.

That's kind of a landmark Birthday, I'm sure you'd agree. 40 years since Chris Claremont and the late Herb Trimpe introduced readers to Brian Braddock and his own corner of Marvel's Universe. Among those of us who have followed the character (through thick and in increasingly thin) I think a fair few of us were hoping that this might well be the time for Marvel to celebrate that landmark.

Maybe a new series? He'd been getting a bit of push on New Avengers before Secret Wars hit. It didn't seem implausible. Maybe with a recognised creative team - to give it a bit of profile?

Heck, Bleeding Cool were even speculating that last year, in relation to Miracleman and Fables artist Mark Buckingham talking about having a long held desire to work on the character.

Now wouldn't that be something?

With all these things places together was it really unreasonable to hope that something might come of that in 'All-New All-Different' Marvel?

Well, sadly that too seems not to be on the cards.

Comic Book Resources has a regular chinwag with Marvel EiC Axel Alonso named 'Axel-In-Charge', for which readers are suggested to pose questions for the man himself through a dedicated questions thread on their forum. Quite a few people raised the question of Cap's 40th birthday, and plans for the character on that that thread in the Autumn. Something which for several weeks did seem to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless, it did kept cropping up.

However, when CBR finally did raise the question (and CBR sadly neglected to mention the 40th anniversary) the reply was as follows:

CBR: Any chance of Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze and Captain Britain showing in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe?

Axel Alonso: There are no current plans for Captain Britain, and sketchy plans for Johnny Blaze. Unless. Wait. Sounds like a buddy book...

Certainly not what long time fans of the character were wanting to hear.

Possibly even less wanted however was the news that with the final issue of the Secret Wars event, and the realignment of Marvel's multiverse after that event, perhaps Captain Britain's most significant contribution to Marvel Comics as a whole - the naming of its universe - has now been erased.

While in the new continuity the universe itself is to most intents and purposes the same as it was before (with a few additions - Miles Morales, Old Man Logan, etc) it is now to be known as the "Prime Earth".

"Earth 616" is no more.

Yes, it's not the end of the world (well, figuratively speaking anyway) but most definitely not the greatest of starts to Captain Britain's 40th Anniversary Year.

Sigh.

Still, I don't want to get too bogged down with negativity here. That doesn't really help anybody. I'm always on the lookout for any more positive Marvel UK news, and early last month I came across the following tweet from Scottish based poster artist Ciara McAvoy:

Caira McAvoy has done work for a number of movie studios and production companies. She paints in oils, with incredible detail. The Benedict Cumberbatch Doctor Strange picture pinned on her feed is a strong example of that. But at the time I dismissed it as a private project, likely for her own amusement. There are many people across the landscape of the internet who have done mock up movie artwork for their chosen Captain Britain subject. People fancasting what a TV series or Movie could look like. As far as I knew, this was another example.

Then a couple of weeks ago, this happened:

Upcoming *what* now?

A Captain Britain TV series? That certainly seemed unlikely.

But was it implausible? I mean this was a professional poster artist here. No such TV project had been announced, and you would expect that if Marvel were working on such a project then anybody involved with it would be under the terms of a pretty hefty non-disclosure agreement.

But, still...

Suddenly that started to sound a lot more promising. People started questioning McAvoy.

And at that point tongues started wagging.

NDA or no, this was apparently Paid work. Could it actually be that this was a credible leak from a genuine series in development?

Fan sites and bloggers started reporting it. IGN reported it.

Things were suddenly picking up.

Since Marvel started dabbling with TV projects I think that quite a few of us have probably fancasted a series in our heads. Both Captain Britain and the MI13 setup are quite plausible concepts for a TV series. Alternate universes, magic, swords and sorcery, the supernatural - these are things which British Sci Fi does so well. Pair that with a lead character whose powers are connected to the collective conscious of the whole Country (in a very tangible way) and you could have a show which not only explores the usual superhero tropes but what it actually means to be 'British' in the modern world, also.

When Captain Britain dies the whole Country feels it in their very soul. When they're behind him he has near godlike strength, but if that mantle fell, if that public confidence waned, all of that could just as easily fall away.

Who wouldn't want to see storylines such as the Jaspers Warp adapted for television? Or finally seeing a British version of Betsy Braddock? Heck, we assume that 20th Century Fox own the rights to Pete Wisdom (through Excalibur being an X-Office title) but could Agents of SHIELD's Lance Hunter (a Captain Britain supporting cast member of old, remember) be a suitable replacement?

Well, hold those thoughts.

Just don't get too excited yet.

The following day Caira McAvoy revealed just who it was that she was working with. One producer named Chris Lark, of Cool Mint Productions, and a co-producer named Eleni Larchanidou.

And this is where the story starts to seem a lot less plausible.

A little research into Chris Lark, and Cool Mint Productions, pretty much only yields a single, quite sparsely populated, company website.

The company describes itself as "small but talented US Independent (a.k.a. "Indie") Film & TV Production Company with the big goal to see its big film & TV visions through to a larger (as in worldwide) viewing audience."

Small, sadly, is not an exaggeration. I can find no listing for either Lark (at least this Chris Lark) or a company of that name on IMDB. Their website lists no previous paid work. A student film project named "The Journey" is listed. But that's all. No past industry experience seems to be forthcoming for either.

Which is never a good sign.

Eleni Larchanidou, on the other hand, does have one completed credit. Executive Producer on an indie horror movie called 'Wonder Valley'. Although it is rather unclear as to when/if that movie actually came out. Both 2013 and 2015 are given as dates for the movie, nobody has reviewed it and there is no plot summary added.

Which, again, is not a good sign.

Now I can't say with any authority that I know exactly how it is that Marvel Studios do business, but I think that it's relatively safe to say that on past form they have always aimed to work with companies and individuals who have well-proven track records. A body of work which can be used to prove their ability.

That does not exist here.

While its not unusual for Marvel to work with a third party Production Company on its TV productions, it's usually because the company is connected to a high profile individual who has a direct connection to the work. Joss Whedon's Mutant Enemy, for example, on Agents of SHIELD. Or Melissa Rosenberg's Tall Girls Productions on Jessica Jones.

But in each case Marvel Television and ABC Studios (both part of Disney's umbrella of creative companies) has been the principle company behind each show. They choose the Property from their list of IPs and then they choose who to work with in developing it.

That's the key detail. Marvel and Disney choose.

And I find it relatively unlikely that they would be willing to take on a producer and company without proven experience of working on and producing TV drama.

Chris Lark himself tweeted the following details for Caira McAvoy to share up in response:

A Highlight Reel? For a series which doesn't yet exist?

And that's the point that the penny drops.

This isn't a series. There is no planned development. This was artwork for a prospective Pitch.

Don't get me wrong here, Ciara McAvoy has been paid to do artwork for this, but I wouldn't be getting too many hopes up here. This is a couple of unheard of producers, hoping to get an audience with Marvel to pitch a project.

Will Marvel Studios be likely to grant an audience for such a pitch, from a company without a track record? I cannot say for certainty. But I would imagine it not to be terribly likely for that to occur.

Phrases such as "to take to Marvel for 2017 with hopes of them helping us with the series" are kind of the giveaway to me. Marvel wouldn't be helping these guys make a show. Cool Mint Productions don't own Captain Britain. They couldn't make this series on their on, because Marvel own that IP. Captain Britain is their product. Not the other way around.

And while I don't know either as individuals, I would also speculate that two random independent film makers from New Mexico would possibly not be the most natural of candidates to understand how best to develop and tell the story of British based series, about a set of British characters.

No. Sorry. That's the point where my suspension of disbelief in the rumour finally snapped. I wish them luck, but I'm out.

The only way a Captain Britain TV series is ever likely to actually happen is if Marvel decide to look into it themselves. I think it's really that simple.

However, the one positive thing to come out of all of this is that even though the rumour that the series was being developed had been thoroughly debunked, people continued to talk about the possibility of a series.

It started to get some mainstream press coverage.

The Metro: Could Marvel be giving their first British superhero a TV show? - "Move over Captain America, Captain Britain aka Brian Braddock might be getting his own TV series."

The Times: Captain Britain back from the 1970s for TV adventure - "The superhero, whose adventures in the 1970s included rescuing Jim Callaghan, the prime minister, from the villainous Red Skull, has been chosen for a revival after the huge success of other Marvel characters."

The Mirror: Essex-born Captain Britain could be getting his own TV series - who will play the 1970s superhero? - An article which fixates on the one basic detail they've bothered to research (his being born in Essex) and turns out this hideous suggestion - "Basically, the show could be a cross between The Avengers and TOWIE, with the main character wearing a Union Jack leotard instead of a mankini."

I despair a little. But At least it's coverage.

Even the BBC jumped on it with Essex Marvel superhero Captain Britain 'could be made into TV series' and Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston being asked to do an interview for The World Tonight on Radio 4!

(Although as a side note, it is a shame that the Beeb opted to use the one Captain Britain character profile Marvel ever put out which incorrectly identifies Brian Braddock as a mutant. Don't go giving 20th Century Fox ideas on staking claims of ownership. They don't need encouraging.)

It's all been a little bit surreal...

But while I sincerely doubt that the pitch which started this rumour will come to anything, you would have to hope that perhaps the resulting mini media circus which it has stirred up has not gone unnoticed by at least somebody within Marvel. The response to the rumour (even amongst those seeking to poke a little bit of fun) has been one of well meaning positivity.

Wouldn't it be great if in this 40th Year of Captain Britain that the Powers That Be took a moment to think about how they might be able to use the character of Brian Braddock to pitch into a whole other audience. Maybe this could be the year for some good news, yet?

And now I throw this open to you. If such a series were ever to see the light of day, what would you like to see? And who would you want to see involved? Which stories? What kind of approach?

Feel free to make use of the Comments section.