NYCC 2013: Exclusive – Straczynski Working On Mystery Movie For Disney

StraczynskiNYCC2013
Photo by Maggie Walther, FBOL

Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski is one busy writer these days. In addition to his work writing the upcoming Netflix series Sense8 with the Wachowski siblings, a number of comic series being released under the banner of “Joe’s Comics” at Image Comics, prepping to shoot the film the World War Two drama The Flickering Light early next year as well as a few other projects, the writer is also working on a mystery project for Disney.

Starczynski made the announcement during his spotlight panel at the New York Comic Con this past weekend, but kept the details very close to the vest. He did not divulge any story details or even a title, but did state that he was working on the revisions to his first draft while on the flight from California to the con that week. He also indicated that it was a screenplay for “Disney proper,” ruling out that it would be for any of the studios under the Disney umbrella such as Marvel, Pixar or Lucasfilm.

As to what this project might be, who can say really? Back in 2009 it was reported that Straczynski was adapting the video game Shattered Union for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney, but given that there has been no new word on that project since and Bruckheimer’s own current rocky relationship with the studio it is doubtful that this is that project. Although Straczynski did state at NYCC in 2010 that based on the draft he turned in to Bruckheimer that they had hired him for a second project “that I can’t tell you about it yet.” Could this be that project?

Straczynski’s resume is pretty varied. This is the guy whose career started off in the 1980s with animated series like He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, She-Ra: Princess Of Power and The Real Ghostbusters before graduating on to the first revival of The Twilight Zone and then the mystery series Jake And The Fatman and Murder, She Write before creating Babylon 5, it’s spin-off series Crusade and then the science-fiction series Jeremiah for Showtime. On the film side of his resume, Straczynski has the screenplays for the period drama Changeling, and the genre flicks Ninja Assassin and Underworld: Awakening as well as story credits for Thor and World War Z. While much of his work has definitely been in the science-fiction and fantasy genres, Straczynski has shown enough range that this film could be just about anything.

Avatar für Rich Drees
About Rich Drees 7184 Articles
A film fan since he first saw that Rebel Blockade Runner fleeing the massive Imperial Star Destroyer at the tender age of 8 and a veteran freelance journalist with twenty-five years experience writing about film and pop culture. He is a member of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle.
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[…] Film Buff Online reports that Straczynski teased the new Disney project during his spotlight panel at New York Comic Con, saying he was in the middle of revisions to the first draft of his screenplay. While he wouldn’t divulge a title or any story specifics, he revealed that the movie would be for “Disney proper,” as opposed to a subsidiary brand like Marvel, Pixar, or Lucasfilm. […]

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[…] Film Buff Online reports that Straczynski teased the new Disney project during his spotlight panel at New York Comic Con, saying he was in the middle of revisions to the first draft of his screenplay. While he wouldn’t divulge a title or any story specifics, he revealed that the movie would be for “Disney proper,” as opposed to a subsidiary brand like Marvel, Pixar, or Lucasfilm. […]

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[…] Michael Straczynski, the esteemed television and comic book writer, sat down for an interview with FilmBuffOnline, in which he teased a secret Disney project he was working on.  But he also took the opportunity […]