Let’s face it, Marvel is a multi-media entertainment company in the truest sense of the word now. Yes, no doubt the comic book division still operates with a certain amount of autonomy and we’re not suggesting everything is developed as a comic book with eyes toward a feature film, live-action, or animated TV series in mind.
But Marvel has spent a looonnggg-time and undoubtedly some considerable legal fees to apparently finally iron out the rights issues surrounding Marvelman. So the question becomes, did they go through all that strictly for the comic book publishing rights?
Maybe. But could there be a bigger play here?
The Marvel Universe doesn’t really have a Superman archetype among its core stable of characters (though Hyperion, a direct Superman analogue, has appeared in Avengers and Squadron Supreme, and even briefly held a solo title in recent years), and no doubt Marvel Studios is probably feeling pretty good about what they could turn out if they had one.
Marvel/Miracleman has an interesting enough back-story to fuel free press were Marvelman developed into a big screen property and Neil Gaiman potentially being in the mix offers some intriguing possibilities as well.
A long-shot yes, but something to keep an eye on – especially considering that Marvel went through to acquire the character.