Redcoat, the Ghost Machine/Image Comics title from Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch, is in development as a feature film through Atlas Entertainment, one of the production shingles behind Wonder Woman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Longtime DC producer Charles Roven will produce the film for Atlas, with Johns on board to write the screenplay from a story by Johns and Hitch. Ghost Machine employees all have a portion of ownership in the intellectual property, suggesting that Brad Anderson, Andrew Currie, and Rob Leigh likely have some skin in the game.
“All great franchises are built on great characters and Redcoat’s Simon Pure is one of them,” Atlas’ Alex Gartner told Deadline, who first reported the deal. “Funny, charismatic, and lovably roguish, he anchors the IP fantastically.”
“I have known Geoff Johns for many years and in some cases had a front-row seat to his excellent work in the DC world,” Roven added. “Johns and Hitch have formed a brilliant collaboration as writer and illustrator of the Redcoat comics, which have become a top-selling fan favorite. Redcoat is innovative comic material and ripe to become a tentpole.”
The story centers on Simon, a British deserter from the American Revolutionary War, who is gifted immortality and ends up moving his way through history, trying to save America from a vast conspiracy and interacting with major historical figures from the 1700s through the present day.
Here’s the official synopsis for the series, via Image’s website: “British redcoat and all-around rogue, Simon mysteriously became immortal in 1776 after a run-in with the clandestine cabal known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, John Hancock, and many other prominent American Revolutionary War leaders. Since that fateful day, Simon has led a life of adventure and avarice, rubbing elbows (and sometimes fists) with many of history’s most renowned figures, including his nemesis Benedict Arnold, Albert Einstein, Annie Oakley, and many more. One thing they all agree on: they never want to see him again! But what are the true origins and extent of Simon’s power and the mysterious organization behind them? And how has it secretly shaped America and the world? Simon’s on a quest to find out.”
