Matthew Fox to star in Billy Smoke

Adapting a comic book into a movie used to be a huge leap of faith that only the biggest studios would make with the biggest-name franchises, and even then the movies were almost universally awful. All right, so not too much has changed as far as the awful thing goes, but Hollywood is pretty bullish on comic book movies lately. The Summer of '08 alone will see a host of superhero flicks cutting a swathe across a silver screen near you, and the tide isn't going to turn any time soon. Warner Brothers recently optioned Oni Press' Billy Smoke for a movie, and they're in talks for Lost superstar Matthew Fox to bring his perpetual five-o-clock shadow to the titular character.

Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Billy Smoke; the graphic novel won't even be published until next year. The story sounds like pretty standard comic book fare, though: Billy Smoke is an ace assassin who nearly dies in a failed hit. He has a change of heart, and realizes that the only way for him to earn redemption is to kill every other hitman in the world. Ahh, the uncomplicated morality of comic books.

Related links:
Review: Speed Racer
Feature: X Factor: Lost's Fox is Racer X
YouTube: Matthew Fox audition tape

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