Comic book writer Mark Millar is a polarizing figure in the fan community, with some comics readers loving Millar’s dark sense of humor and frequent indulgence in ultra-violence, and others finding his work vulgar, misanthropic, and fascist. One contingent that has no problem with Millar: movie producers, who’ve made films out of his series Kick-Ass, Wanted, and the currently in production The Secret Service. And now 20th Century Fox—the studio making The Secret Service, and developing a handful of other Millar properties—is teaming with the writer and his Kick-Ass/Secret Service director/producer Matthew Vaughn on a film version of the Marvel/Icon mini-series Superior.

Vaughn is only signed on to produce Superior, which is based on Millar and artist Leinil Francis Yu’s comic about an MS-afflicted pre-teen who gets the chance to become his favorite superhero, only to realize that the supernatural entity granting him those powers has nefarious intentions. Superior grapples with some familiar Millar themes, as a weak, ordinary person becomes extraordinary and is transformed by the experience in ways that aren’t always so wonderful. It’s a premise that should play well as a film—and might even be kid-friendly, if Millar is willing to round off some of his usual edge.