Batman Writer Tom King To Write ‘States Of America’ Dystopian TV Drama
Fans of DC’s favorite dark knight have a new tidbit of pleasant news to savor; long-time series writer Tom King has been confirmed to be at the helm of a new television show drama featuring the caped crusader, according to ScreenRant.
The series is tentatively titled States of America, and true to the dire namesake, will be a dystopian future set in a failing United States in which political and sociocultural divides have brought the world superpower into a period of flux. America is now occupied by foreign military and political forces in, presumably, a puppet state. Taking a deeper and most crucial examination of the current counter-cultural divides such as the ongoing War on Terror amongst other vital problems pressing the citizenry, States of America seeks to set a bleak background for the comic book action as translated to the silver screen.
The absence of the word “united” should be the biggest and first clue that something is terribly amiss about the whole situation that Batman has been thrust into. King will be penning the script in service to Topic Studios and the Golden Globe-winning producer Playground.
While many comic book fans appreciate King for his work within the DC Universe, many of those same readers may not be aware of the fact that King is also a former CIA officer. One can assume that this may give him some additional background experience in writing fiction as it pertains to terrorism, intelligence agencies, technological gadgetry — a common theme within the Batman canon, particularly Batman’s iconic utility belt housing an array of dangerous tools and deterrents — and interrogation sequences replete with detective work. BleedingCool provides a statement from Lisa Leingang, SVP-Programming and Content for Topic Studios, germane to this history.
“How often do you get to work with a bona fide former CIA officer turned comic book writer on a project involving national security and terrorism. With Tom writing and our producing partners at Playground, we’re incredibly enthusiastic States of America will deliver riveting drama for audiences to enjoy.”
King has quite the curriculum vitae behind his name brand, a body of work that speaks to the quality of his imaginative storytelling. He is recognized often for his work on the ongoing Batman series with DC, as well as his writing on Mr. Miracle. He has written for Marvel Comics’ The Vision print run and will be helming the creative scene behind DC’s massive crossover event coming up titled Heroes in Crisis. His extensive record also includes contributions to DC’s Nightwing and Teen Titans properties, in addition to his own creative masterpiece with the Vertigo imprint, award winning The Sheriff of Babylon.
Comics star, and CIA officer turned Batman writer, Tom King is developing a new dystopian TV series https://t.co/N1mv4235xB
— Vulture (@vulture) July 25, 2018
King’s debut novel published in 2012 helped to catapult him into the literary scene. Titled A Once Crowded Sky, the book went on to amass large amounts of acclaim and cemented the man as an icon within comics publishing.
With States of America being a hotly anticipated new show on the horizon, fans may have to be content with indulging in some of King’s earlier work to satiate the desire for more pulp from the cape and cowl crowd at DC and Marvel.
