Mark Millar sells Millarworld empire to Netflix for eight-figure deal
Scotsman writer, Mark Millar, sold his comic book universe Millarworld over to the streaming giant for $31 million.
Mark Millar, the writer behind such works as 2000’s The Ultimates, Old Man Logan, Kick-Ass and Civil War, has sold his line of works – Millarworld – over to Netflix for £25 million (approx $31 million) in an exclusive deal. Scottish news outlet, Daily Record, made the initial report.
Launched in 2004, Millar, of Coatbridge, Scotland, developed a brand such as Millarworld. Essentially a creator-owned publishing company wherein comics such as Wanted, Kick-Ass, Nemesis and others were born, the first two forenamed titles were adapted into live-action blockbuster films.
In 2017, Netflix purchased the rights of Millarworld and in August last year Millar signed a new deal with the streaming giant to produce new comics in addition to both film and TV properties. At the time, Millar promoted his latest six-issue comic series, Prodigy, which is being published by Image Comics.
According to the Daily Record, Netflix paid a reported sum of £24.8 Mil (approx $31.2 Mil) to acquire the assets of Millarworld. They also stated after-tax profits had skyrocketed from a reasonable £330,000 (approx $415,582) to £23.3 Mil (approx $29.3 Mil) between 2017 and 2018.
In a move almost as indicative as the 1968 acquisition of DC Comics by Warner Bros. and the 2009 acquisition of Marvel by Disney, the deal sees the former creative consultant at 20th Century Fox before the Disney merger, continue publishing new comics with his wife, Lucy, for transmedia narrative potential in film and TV. The Magic Order and the previous–mentioned Prodigy were created.
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Netflix has already picked up Jupiter’s Legacy and American Jesus for series. Huck, Empress and Sharkey The Bounty Hunter have received the green–light to be adapted into motion picture films. What may likely follow are Reborn, Supercrooks and Prodigy, with the intermediate title being adapted into an anime series rather than a live-action film.