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Comic book iconGarth Ennishelped change the TV landscape with the adaptation of his comic book,The Boys, and now his horror comicCrossedis getting a feature-length adaptation. Accentuated by Ennis' distinct gory and over-the-top sensibility,Crossedenvisions a world in which a deadly virus ravages humanity and causes the infected to act out their most evil thoughts and desires. What makes the post-apocalyptic vision particularly frightening is that the infected hordes retain their human intelligence, making them cunning predators instead of shuffling zombies. LikeThe Boys, Ennis took the tired zombie genre and actually added something new.
Garth Ennis' work has already proven to be the perfect fodder for movies and TV, andThe Boysis perhapsthe most popular superhero television seriesof all time, despite being a satirical twist on the genre. More akin to Ennis' other classic work,Preacher,Crossedused the comic book medium to elevate the zombie/rage virus trend that was popular in the Aughts, but it did so by taking things to the most extreme places possible.Crossedis being adapted into a movie, which is the first time an Ennis comic has been truncated into a feature-length story.
The Boys' Writer Admits How He’d Change the Story Today
The Boys' co-creator Garth Ennis once admitted he’d make a significant change to the series if it was written today as opposed to the early ‘2000s.
The Crossed Adaptation Is Confirmed
The Comic Movie Was Announced In 2024
Though Garth Ennis’ most successful work,The Boys, is expected to go off the air in the near future, another Ennis adaptation has already been announced. In August 2024, it was revealed thata feature-length adaptation ofCrossedis in the works by Ennis and Six Studios, andthe comic book scribe is expected to pen the screenplay. The horror comic adaptation is currently under development, and it hasn’t been scooped up by a major studio or distributor quite yet.
The Boysseason 5 is confirmed to be the final season.
With Ennis retained as the writer,it’s expected thatCrossedwill be a faithful adaptation of the source material, but it isn’t clear how the story will be approached. No other names are attached to the project outside of Ennis and Six Studios, and it will probably take quite a while for a director or cast members to join the film. As such, it’s also impossible to know when or if the project will move beyond the development phase, though the popularity of Ennis' work might spur the movie along quicker than the average Hollywood feature.
Is Crossed Connected To The Boys?
The Two Projects Are Completely Separate
It’s unclear at this stage of development if the comic adaptation is aimed at fans ofThe Boysor if it will aim for a different audience entirely.
Even thoughThe Boysis now Garth Ennis' most recognizable work by far,Crossedis completely separate from his popular anti-superhero universe. In fact,The Boysis a biting satire about corporate greed, nationalism, and a host of other heady topics, whileCrossedis a no-holds-barred horror. The two works do not take place in the same universe, and it’s likely that the adaptation ofCrossedwill be a stunning departure from the tongue-in-cheek gory fun ofThe Boys. Though violence and bloodshed is a consistent theme throughout Ennis' work,Crossedtakes things to a different level.
Asthe AMC adaptation ofPreachershowed, Ennis' works are a challenge to bring to the screen because of their over-the-top gore and disregard for conventional morality.The Boyscaptures this tone in a distilled manner, and the numerous changes between the comics and show were likely made to tone things down. Ennis is penning the script forCrossed,andhe might not make as many cuts to his post-apocalyptic horror story. It’s unclear at this stage of development if the comic adaptation is aimed at fans ofThe Boysor if it will aim for a different audience entirely.
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Nothing is known about Garth Ennis' approach to the adaptation ofCrossed, but the comics offer a perfect road map for a terrifying feature film. Like most zombie stories,Crossedsees a deadly virus ravage humanity and bring about the apocalypse. However, the virus inCrossedcauses the infected to act upon their most devious desires, including murder, cannibalism, and a host of other unspeakable acts. Unlike the shuffling zombies ofThe Walking Dead,the “cross-faces” ofCrossedretain their human intelligence, which makes them a uniquely deadly adversary.
This basic framework will be the backdrop for the story, but the rest of the details will likely be entirely original for the movie. The various volumes ofCrossedfollow different bands of survivors as they try to navigate their new post-apocalyptic landscape, and the possibilities for storytelling are endless.Garth Ennis could dream up new characters to appear in the adaptationofCrossed, and like any zombie story, the biggest threat to survival will always be the failings of humanity.
Garth Ennis
Discover the latest news and filmography for Garth Ennis, known for The Boys and Preacher.
