Movies based on graphic novels are all the rage these days, but mostly it just mainstream DC and Marvel Comics books represented. Hollywood has yet to tap into the limitless potential of books that are just left of center. However, Ryan Gosling and The Underwater Welder might be the start of bucking that trend.
Variety reports that Gosling has signed on to co-produce a film based on Jeff Lemire’s 2012 Top Shelf graphic novel, The Underwater Welder. The actor will be partnering with Ken Kao (whose Waypoint Entertainment produced Gosling’s The Nice Guys) and Anonymous Content to produce the film, with Lemire, Chris Staros from Top Shelf and Ted Adams of IDW Publishing on-board as executive producers.
The Underwater Welder tells the tale of a soon-to-be father that is working on repairing an off-shore oil rig off the coast of Nova Scotia. A supernatural occurrence under the sea puts the diver in contact with the ghost of his dead father. The novel was well received, making appearances on a number of best-of lists for 2012 and was a New York Times Bestseller.