Ex Machina, the terrific comic book series from writer Brian K. Vaughan, was a wonderful mix of politics and fantasy. It centered around Mitchell Hundred, a man who was granted super (and ominous) powers and used them to save the lives of thousands and become mayor of New York City. The series followed Hundred’s tenure as the top dog in NYC and contained flashbacks to his superhero days. Ex Machina was smart, decidedly different and still contained the sort of drama and wonder you’d expect from a comic book. It was like The West Wing meets Spider-Man. It was really something special.
The series, which debuted in 2004, has long been rumored to become a TV show or a movie but nothing has ever come of it. It now seems that Machina will have its chance again as THR reports that Seberg writers Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel have been tapped by Legendary Entertainment to pen the script for a feature film adaptation. Vaughan will serve as executive producer. To avoid confusion with Alex Garland’s terrific sci-fi film from a few years ago, the adaptation will be titled The Great Machine, which was Hundred’s superhero alias since his power was the ability to communicate with machinery.
While the comic had a heavy focus on both the superhero action and the political intrigue, it seems that the movie will have a stronger emphasis on the comic book aspect. Apparently the movie will be about Hundred dealing with “a threatened political career when the source of his powers returns to claim its debt.” Oh boy, sounds dangerous to me. The only thing more menacing than politics is an otherworldly villain hellbent on power.
Even if the story has to change or condense, I will still be very happy to see Ex Machina brought to the big screen. It was written when Vaughan was at the height of his powers, the biggest name in the comic industry. He had a lot to say with Ex Machina, touching on various real world issues while still giving us a lot of whiz-bang excitement. Like I said, it was really special.