Back in August of 2017, Netflix acquired Millarworld Limited, the comic book company founded in 2004 by Mark Millar, writer and co-creator of such titles as Kick-Ass, Kingsman and Jupiter’s Legacy, among many others. Despite selling his company, however, Millar has no plans to stop making comics — something that initially came as a surprise to the higher-ups at Netflix.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Millar compared what it’s like working under Netflix to what it was like when Millarworld was fully independent. “Oh, yes. It’s completely different,” he said. “A lot of people were confused when we sold the company to Netflix. They seemed to think it was a first-look deal or something, but it was Netflix’s first ever acquisition, much like DC being bought by Warner Bros. or Disney buying Marvel. This is owned stock by Netflix now, and if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, it would continue to be owned by Netflix, my partners and I are selling everything 100 percent.”
Millar also explained that, in an entirely different deal, “Netflix asked my wife and I to join the company after the sale as President and CEO of the Millarworld Division. We all got on very well and thought along the same lines, so it was a very smooth transition, giving us a chance to oversee the various film and TV adaptations, as well as running publishing in-house and bringing the books out via Image Comics.”
He continued, “Netflix was surprised I was so passionate about continuing to do comics too, but I didn’t get into this business to get out of it. It was never a stepping stone for me, as I love it. I asked to get a few comics written into my work contract as a Netflix exec every year and I’m now adapting the franchises I create in-house into comic form. The Magic Order was the first of these, but also Space Bandits, Sharkey, Night Club, King of Spies and Prodigy. These are all TV shows or movies I created as an in-house franchise and then worked up with character bibles to be comics too.”
Film adaptations of Millar’s comics not related to the Netflix deal include Wanted, the Kick-Ass duology and the Kingsman series. Netflix’s first proprietary Millarworld project to hit screens was the streaming giant’s television adaption of Jupiter’s Legacy, which premiered its one and only season earlier this year. Despite Jupiter’s Legacy‘s cancellation, an anime spinoff series, Super Crooks, is slated to premiere on Netflix on Nov. 25. Netflix is also developing television adaptations of American Jesus and The Magic Order.
Meanwhile, the streamer’s slate of upcoming Millarworld feature films includes Prodigy, Empress, Sharkey the Bounty Hunter, Reborn and Huck.
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