Stan Lee Is Working On A Unique ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Film Adaptation

Stan Lee is a comic book legend, and the father to some of the most popular and beloved superhero characters of all time. The former comic book writer and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics is responsible for creating classic superhero characters like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, the Hulk, and Marvel’s most successful and popular character, Spider-Man. But when Stan “The Man” Lee isn’t making various cameos in film adaptations of his legendary characters, he still finds time to keep his creative juices flowing. In this particular case, it’s in the form of a unique Romeo and Juliet live-action film adaptation.

Stan Lee’s media production company POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, formed in 2001 along with Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman, has been in contact with Terry Douglas of 1821 Media for the last few years now. Variety reports that the plan was to develop an original take on the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, but of course, since Stan Lee is involved, they are pulling inspiration from a graphic novel released in 2012 titled Romeo and Juliet: The War. The novel went on to be a New York Times bestseller, and it did, indeed, provide a unique take on the classic tale, one involving cyborgs, enhanced humans, and science fiction. As movie studios are prone to do, the film rights to the property have been snatched up by Lionsgate.

In regards to Lionsgate acquiring the film rights, Stan Lee said, “What a treat it is to finally announce our partnership with Lionsgate on a project. The story of Romeo and Juliet is one of my absolute favorites, and I can’t wait to bring our rendition of this classic to life.” The official synopsis of Romeo and Juliet: The War reads as follows.

“Two groups of superhuman soldiers who turned the Empire of Verona into the most powerful territory on earth. The MONTAGUES, powerful cyborgs made of artificial DNA, and the CAPULETS, genetically enhanced humans known for their speed and agility, worked in tandem to destroy all threats to the city. With no one left to fight, the Montagues and Capulets found themselves a new enemy: each other.

“THIS IS THE STORY OF…

“A young Montague boy and Capulet girl who fall in love. They secretly plan to marry, hoping their union can be what brings peace between the warring factions. But forces beyond their control begin to conspire against them, threatening their love, their lives… and the entire Empire of Verona.

“THIS IS THE STORY OF….

“A tragedy that spans all of space and time.

“THIS IS THE STORY OF…

“Romeo and Juliet: The War”

The graphic novel was created by Stan Lee and Terry Douglas, written by Max Work with art by Skan Srisuwan. “Given their success with franchises such as ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Divergent’ series, Lionsgate is the perfect partner to adapt this graphic novel which is rich in visuals and set in an incredible, futuristic world,” said the project’s producers, Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis and Terry Douglas. The screenplay for the film adaptation is being written by John J. Griffin, according to Flickering Myth.

This Stan Lee project will not be the first original interpretation of one of William Shakespeare’s classic tales. Baz Luhrmann directed a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo + Juliet, in 1996, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Writer/director Michael Almereyda made a modern day New York City adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in 2000. Stan Lee has been involved as a producer in countless Marvel/superhero-related films, cartoons, TV shows, and so on since the beginning of the ’90s. Romeo and Juliet: The War, as well as Phineas and Ferb, are a couple of non-superhero related projects Lee has been involved with.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]