Dan Brown proved that religion and action adventure can mix with lucrative results. So what’s next? A religious comic book movie, of course.

Comingsoon.net reports that Platinum Studios and Valhalla Motion Pictures are teaming up to turn Top Cow’s comic Magdalena into a feature film. Kevin Taft, who is writing the upcoming New Line Cinema scarefest Alone, will pen the script.

Magdalena will be the first religious-themed comic book character to be adapted for film. It’s the story of a girl named Patience who discovers that she’s descended from a line of women warriors that traces its ancestry to Mary Magdalene. Because this is a comic book, Patience must then a) accept her destiny, and b) save the world. The comic has been translated into 26 languages in 55 countries.

“Magdalena is exactly the kind of project we love: a strong female lead character, a story with rich mythology, and compelling characters,” says producer Gale Anne Hurd, whose projects include The Terminator and Aeon Flux. “The religious overtone adds a new dimension to the adventure story.”

Comic creator and Top Cow Productions CEO Marc Silvestri will executive produce. “The need for faith in any form is what Magdalena is about,” said Silvestri. “Patience’s journey is, ultimately, about having faith in something – God, a loved one, or the human condition and the need to believe in something that is greater than ourselves.”

Magdalena, a fan favourite in the Top Cow library, also has enormous crossover merchandise potential – games, toys, you name it. Platinum Studios signed a contract with Top Cow in 2004 to develop Top Cow’s comics for film, television and other media, so it looks like the comic book movie craze is far from over.






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