According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming Lobo series will spinoff directly from the Superman historical prequel Krypton.
With Emmett J. Scanlan (Gangs of London) tapped to play Tha’ Main Bastich for the small screen, we can expect plenty of intergalactic hyjinks from the stogie-smokin’, chain-whippin’ bounty hunter who, predating Deadpool by a good while is an immortal semi-comedic foil (with an inordinate helping of plot armour) for the rest of the DC Universe.
If the show will be keeping in line with the comics continuity, Lobo is the last of his kind; a member of the Czarnian race who killed off his homeworld as a goof. One part Judge Dredd and two parts Lemmy, Lobo is occasionally depicted as having Superman-levels of strength and durability combined with regenerative powers that would make Wolverine wonder what the point even was. He also has a bulldog named Dawg.
Krypton executive producer Cameron Welsh will serve as executive producer/writer for the show.
Lobo‘s co-creator Keith Giffen said during a 2006 interview:
“I have no idea why Lobo took off… I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine hero prototype, and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy. Go figure.”
Proving once again that fandom rarely grasps irony or the beating of dead horses, especially when intergalactic bounty hunters are involved.
Character-owner Warner Bros. has more plans on the way for Lobo; it’s believed that they are also eyeing off a potential feature film which could be springboarded by the success of this show. In some brain-bendingly perfect direction choice, they have reportedly approached Michael Bay to possibly helm the feature.
So, Krypton was not necessarily something that personally grabbed me; the intent of the show seemed pure; Game of Thrones on Superman’s long dead homeworld. But the execution felt as though it was a thick padding of nervousness that prevented the premise from being anything other than an idle threat.
I get why; it’s an incredibly fine line to walk, taking the raw brutality, incest and horrific betrayal and then translating the sentiment into a comic book setting; if it could happen anywhere in the DC Universe, Krypton was the right place with some pretty good, more adult-oriented stories preexisting on the printed page. Ultimately it fell a good deal short with the final product, lacking complexity and the sense of movement and life that GoT had, intentions notwithstanding.
So I don’t know what SyFy actually hopes to accomplish by introducing a character like Lobo into the mix; it’s as though Deadpool were to show up at the end of The Hobbit, shoot Smaug and ask what the fuss was about. While admittedly amusing to think about, we have to ask if that helps the setting in any way. It could be as simple as drawing all the adult-themed settings under one roof, I suppose.
Also, is transposing Game of Thrones into other franchises really a good idea except for a new way for studio execs to say “dark and gritty!” all over again?
What do you guys think of the new Lobo TV series? Any fans of Krypton out in the Wasteland?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!