The live-actionJonny Questmovie has new life. Warner Bros. has officially tappedThe LEGO Batman MoviedirectorChris McKayto tackle the adaptation. Dating back to the early 1960s,Jonny Questhas been a recognizable and popular figure in pop culture, but has never made the trip to the big screen. That looks like it’s finally set to change, as a promising filmmaker is now in the captain’s chair.
According to a new report, Dan Lin, Jonathan Eirich and Adrian Askarieh are set to produce theJonny Questmovie, with Chris McKay at the helm. Daniel Alter is also on board to executive produce. Previously, Robert Rodriguez, known for theSpy Kidsfranchise,From Dusk Till Dawn,Sin CItyand the upcomingAlita: Battle Angel, among other things, had been attached,initially boarding the project in 2015. Development unfortunately stalled out under his watch.
Jonny Questinitially debuted as ananimated series from Hanna-Barberain 1964, running for just a single season through 1965. The show sees the title character tagging along on a series of adventures alongside his scientist father,Dr. Benton Quest. They are accompanied by Race Bannon and Hadji. Eventually, thanks to its popularity in syndication, the show was revived as The New Adventures of Jonny Quest in the 1980s, followed by The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest in the late 90s. The character has also been to a couple of made-for-TV movies, as well as the 2015 home video crossover,Tom and Jerry: Spy Quest. But never has he made the jump to live-action or the big screen. DC Comics recently launched a new comic series based on the show that has done quite well, titledFuture Quest.
As for Chris McKay, he had primarily been known for his efforts working onAdult Swim animated showssuch asMoral OrelandRobot Chickenbefore making the jump to features withThe LEGO Batman Movielast year. That movie did quite well for Warner Bros. and was very well-received. McKay was then tapped to develop aNightwingmovie, which has since been put on the backburner, but isn’t canceled. It seems the studio decided it was best to make use of his talents elsewhere while they wait to give Dick Grayson his own movie, when the time is right. While McKay hasn’t done nearly as much in the world of live-action, he’s certainly proved he can faithfully adapt a pre-existing property quite well.
While few details are available currently, the report also notes that a “major movie star” is being eyed for the role of the former secret agent bodyguard Race Bannon. There is currently no word on who could wind up with the titular role. Previous drafts ofJonny Questwere penned by Terry Rossio and Dan Mazeau, but it’s likely that a new writer will be brought on board since a new director has come into play. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as more details on the project are made available. This news was first reported byThe Wrap.
