Channing Tatum is eager to get started on his big-screen adaptation of Image Comics‘ The Maxx.
“Oh my God, I’m so excited for this I can’t even explain. The Maxx!!!! This is a childhood love of mine. The truly brilliant genius creation of Sam Keith,” Tatum said in an Instagram post featuring screenshots of The Maxx’s inaugural issues.
“When I was grounded and wasn’t allowed to watch TV, this was the cartoon on MTVs Oddities I would risk it all for. Sneak out of bed and put it on, and pray I didn’t get caught. Even now, after all this time, it feels somehow still ahead of its time. The characters in this… the Maxx, Julie Winters, and Mr. Gone taught me things about life life. Seeded complex ideas in my young mind that had a profound effect on how I viewed the world and the roles we play. That I only intellectually understood way later. I can’t wait to bring this to life and try and bring it to generations that miss it.”
Who is The Maxx?
Created by Sam Keith, The Maxx made his Image Comics debut in The Maxx #1 (March 1993). Set between the real world and the alternate reality known as “the Outback,” the Maxx lives as a homeless man who befriends the troubled social worker Julie Winters. In the Outback, however, Maxx is a powerful, purple-skinned superhero with a bizarre face who protects Julie’s alter ego as the Jungle Queen. The comic lasted 35 issues from 1993 to 1998 and spawned a 13-episode animated series on MTV as part of their Oddities program in 1995.
In 2019, movie plans for The Maxx were announced by Tatum as part of a joint venture between his production company Free Association and Roy Lee’ in 2019’s Vertigo Entertainment. Crystal Moselle is currently attached to write and direct the adaptation for Paramount. Her previous credits include the documentaries The Wolfpack and Sophia.
The Maxx does not have a release date.
