Netflix announced that they have given a thumbs up to Grendel, an award-winning Dark Horse comic book series by Matt Wagner that will be adapted as a live-action series. Actor Abubakr Ali of Power Book II: Ghost fame will be seen as the titular vigilante hero Grendel/Hunter Rose.
The story of Grendel follows Hunter Rose, a gifted fencer, writer and assassin as, seeking to avenge the death of a lost love, he goes to war with New York’s criminal underworld. He realises that when he can join them, why beat them. It explores the line between hero and villain.
The upcoming series will have eight episodes. It will be written by Andrew Dabb known for Resident Evil and Supernatural. He is also the showrunner and executive producer. Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, Chris Tongue and Wagner are other executive producers.
Netflix and Dark Horse have previously collaborated on the popular series The Umbrella Academy, Jonas Åkerlund’s feature film Polar, and they are currently in production on the animated series, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled about the Grendel saga, one of the longest-running independent comics series, finally being translated into live-action for the screen. Under the sharp guidance of showrunner Andrew Dabb, our incredible creative team, sure-to-be stellar cast and Dark Horse Entertainment have teamed with Netflix to produce this provocative adaptation that will bring my characters and concepts to an all new audience and yet still provide excitement and surprises for die-hard fans. I’m especially excited to see Abubakr Ali bring the character of Grendel/Hunter Rose to life — he has the charisma, style and vital edginess that I’ve been envisioning in the role for years,” story’s creator Wagner said.
Jaime Ray Newman (The Time Traveler’s Wife) will be seen as Jocasta Rose, Julian Black Antelope (The Flash) as Argent, Madeline Zima (Californication) stars as Liz Sparks, Kevin Corrigan (Scenes from an Empty Church) as Barry Palumbo, Emma Ho (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) as Stacy Palumbo, Erik Palladino (Watchmen) will appear as Teddy Ciccone, Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive) as Annabelle Wright and Andy Mientus (The Flash) as “Larry Stohler”.