Somehow I missed this story from Friday, but Dark Horse Comics and Universal Pictures have signed a three year production and distribution agreement.
Under the terms of the deal, Universal would have creative access to all Dark Horse characters and properties, as well as any material that Dark Horse might acquire on its own and want to develop as a motion picture. In addition, Dark Horse would have the opportunity to distribute movies through Universal.
Currently Hellboy II: The Golden Army will be released through Universal Pictures on July 11, 2008.
Mike Richardson, founder and President of Dark Horse said in a prepared statement, “We’ve worked with many studios and have had several great experiences, but we are particularly happy to be joining forces with Universal Pictures in this deal. We feel a real connection with their vision and the energy and creativity they bring to developing our properties. We are also excited by the option that we’ll have to independently produce our own material and distribute it through Universal; their flexibility in this collaboration is what we were looking for, and we’re glad we found it.”
With the exception of the Aliens, Predator, Terminator, and Star Wars titles Dark Horse publishes, which wouldn’t be included in the deal, titles like The Goon, Abe Sapien, and possibly Umbrella Academy could be on the silver screen in the future.
