Netflix Producing Adaptation of Mark Millar’s Reborn, A Comic About a War in the Afterlife

Netflix seems to finally be making progress on its adaptation of comic book author Mark Millar’s Reborn, a story that was first confirmed to be in the works more than a year and a half ago. The film, produced by Sandra Bullock via her Fortis Films company, has found its writer in the form of Bek Smith, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Smith is a rising writer who worked at Marvel, and is currently working on several major projects, including an Into the Spider-Verse spin-off and an adaptation of the classic Vertigo Comics series 100 Bullets at New Line.

Reborn, meanwhile, packs quite a premise of its own: It’s about an 80-year-old woman named Bonnie Black who passes away in a hospice on Earth, only to find herself reborn in the afterlife in her own, 25-year-old body. There, she finds herself in a war-torn fantasy kingdom called Adystria, where she reunites with her deceased father and childhood dog, embarking on a quest to find her missing husband who passed away a decade earlier. The comic is part of Millar’s universe of titles, known as Millarworld. Previously adapted Mark Millar titles on screen have included Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service. Reborn is a newer title, having first been published in 2016.

Netflix acquired all Millarworld titles in 2017, but Reborn seems to be the main focus at the moment. One can certainly note the parallels between this and say, The Old Guard with Charlize Theron, as both will be female-fronted action movies with sci-fi or fantasy elements. It’s not known who is attached to direct or star on the film just yet, but there’s always a possibility that Bullock decides to get more personally involved—although her age would seem to preclude her from playing the lead, at the very least.

We’ll bring you more news on the Reborn adaptation as it arrives.