Adam McKay to direct big screen adaptation of Irredeemable

20th Century Fox is gearing up for another big superhero movie, but this one won’t star the X-Men or Deadpool. Deadline brings word that Adam McKay (The Big Short) will direct a big screen adaptation of the Mark Waid and Peter Krouse comic book series, Irredeemable. Tommy Wirkola (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters) will pen the script for the film, which will be produced by Boom! Studios’ Ross Richie and Stephen Christy with McKay and Kevin Messick through their Gary Sanchez production banner.

McKay is no stranger to comic book adaptations, having previously been in line to direct both The Boys (based on the Garth Ennis series) and Marvel’s Ant-Man, eventually lending help with the script for the film. He’s also worked on the script for its sequel, 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Irredeemable was first published in 2009 and tells the story of a Superman-like character, The Plutonian, who one days snaps and becomes the world’s greatest supervillain, flooding continents and killing millions. The former hero’s allies, a team of heroes called The Paradigm, are the only ones that can stop him all while on the run from his god-like rage. As the team tries to uncover his secrets and find a way to stop him, they must figure out what drove him to the edge and team up with their former enemies to stop their friend. What happens to the world when its savior betrays it?

A companion series, Incorruptible, was also created and ran concurrently with Irredeemable, telling the story of one of The Plutonian’s enemies who turned good in the wake of his evil.