Legendary Entertainment has acquired worldwide film rights to the fantasy-action graphic novel “God Country” and will team up with AfterShock Media on the project.
Legendary announced the deal Tuesday. “God Country” is written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Geoff Shaw, with Cates set to adapt the screenplay. Jon Silk brought the project in and is overseeing with Jay Ashenfelter for Legendary Entertainment.
Legendary and AfterShock previously teamed on developing a movie based on the comic “Animosity.” Launched in 2015, AfterShock Media is a publisher of creator-driven comic books and graphic novels aligned with a TV and film production company. The company is overseen by CEO Jon Kramer and president Lee Kramer.
“God Country” was originally published in 2017 by Image Comics. The story centers on an elderly widower rattled by dementia. When a tornado levels his home as well as the surrounding West Texas town, he’s restored and rises from the wreckage as an enchanted sword at the eye of the storm enables him to face the otherworldly creatures the sword has drawn.
Cates’ past works include “Babyteeth” from AfterShock Comics, “Buzzkill” from Dark Horse, and “Redneck” from Image. He’s also worked on “Cosmic Ghost Rider,” “Venom,” “Doctor Strange,” and “Thanos” for Marvel. Cates is represented by UTA.