When an animated project has performed, and is performing really well, sometimes fans and creators begin to wonder: “How would it look in live-action?” Sometimes we never get an answer, but in the case of Robert Kirkman‘s hit animated superhero series Invincible, we will — eventually. Since its debut in 2021, the animated series has since gone on to thrive and garner an impressive following with a third and fourth season already in the pipeline. The hopes of an Invincible live-action lived long before the animated series even became a reality, as it was announced in 2017. Despite the passage of time and the impressive performance of its animated counterpart, the movie is yet to emerge and Kirkman has offered an explanation in that regard.
Speaking with The Direct during a recent chat, the show’s creator, Kirkman, revealed that the success of the show is such that a live-action movie has “to be perfect”, which in turn will likely delay production and ultimate release. “It’s still in development. We’re still working with Universal,” Kirkman said. “You know, the show is going so well. I think the movie absolutely has to be perfect. And so, it’s taking a lot of time, like getting the pieces aligned and getting everything to work so that we can come out and make it as good as it can possibly be. So, it’s been in development for a long time, and it’s probably going to be in development for a while longer.”
While it sounds a bit like disappointing news, Kirkman goes on to stress that the delay is simply due to the live-action movie striking a tone that is unique in its own right. “Just because, in relation to the show, it has to provide a different experience,” he added. “It has to still be true to Invincible in some interesting ways. But it has to be its own thing. It has to stand on its own. And so that’s something we’re spending a lot of time crafting. But I think when it finally happens, it’s gonna be really cool.”
A High Stakes Third Season For ‘Invincible’
Towards the end of July, it was announced that with a third season of Invincible already in the works, Amazon had shown faith in Kirkman‘s work and renewed it for a fourth season. Speaking during the San Diego Comic-Con, Kirkaman went ahead to teased what fans might expect when the third season premieres. The creator suggests that there are storylines from the first couple of seasons which will come to a head in the third season. “The stakes of the season are really high and the content of the season is really dense. So we’ve set up a lot of stories in season 1 and season 2 that are kind of coming to a head in season three. And so in a lot of ways, every episode does kind of feel like a finale,” he revealed at the time.
Invincible Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on Prime Video.
via Collider