The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Following Wim‘s look at the end of Jean Van Hamme and William Vance’s XIII yesterday and his mention of a possible new screen outing for the character, Lisa Ghione has been in touch to confirm that there will indeed be a mini-series based on XIII and in fact the principal filming begins – well, today, as it happens, and will be filmed in Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario. Prodigy Pictures and Cipango are overseeing an impressive $20 million production which will comprise a four-hour, two-part mini-series starring Stephen Dorff (no stranger to comics-to-screen adaptations after the first Blade film), one-time Batman Val Kilmer, Caterina Munro (Casino Royale), Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck, Heroes), Ingrid Hart (Saw IV), Jonathan Higgins (the Dredsen Files) and Stephen McHattie (300, A History of Violence). The series is written by David Wolkove (from the excellent La Femme Nikita) and Philippe Lyon (Alive), with Duane Clark (CSI, Meadowlands) directing the French-Canadian co-production. From the official release:

“The political thriller opens with the assassination of the President of the United States during her Veterans’ Day speech. Three months later, with the case still unsolved, a young man (Stephen Dorff) is found unconscious in the woods. Suffering from amnesia, a tattoo of the Roman numeral “XIII” his only clue, he soon finds himself on the run, not only from government agents and the police, but also from the determined mercenary “Mongoose” (Val Kilmer), and his men. Shocked to learn he is being accused of assassinating the President, a high stakes game of suspense, intrigue and action unfolds as XIII attempts to stay alive, uncover the real conspirators, and discover his true identity.”

(XIII star Stephen Dorff in the first Blade film)

Prodigy Pictures’ founder Jay Firestone added that they had been working on developing the project for a number of years and he was delighted to see it now going into production. Executive producer Edouard de Vésinne (who also co-produced another project based on a Van Hamme comic, Largo Winch: the Heir) commented “XIII has been the most successful cult novel in France and French-speaking countries for 20 years, which is why we are both proud and thrilled to begin principal photography, bringing to life the character created by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance.” More as we hear it.