Netflix Signs First Look Deal With BOOM! Studios

Netflix has brought a pretty interesting array of comic book adaptations to life, from the now-defunct slate of Marvel TV shows to more unconventional hits like The Umbrella Academy and Locke & Key. According to a new report from Variety, the streaming titan will be adding another major player to that roster — BOOM! Studios. Netflix has reportedly signed a first-look television deal with the publisher, which is responsible for a slew of fan-favorite comic book series and graphic novels. The deal will allow BOOM! to develop live-action and animated series under the deal, all of which will be executive produced by BOOM! Studios CEO and founder Ross Richie, and President of Development Stephen Christy.

“We generate 20+ new original series a year and are thrilled to partner with a company that is as prolific as we are,” Richie said in a statement. “BOOM!’s unique partnership model of controlling the media rights to our library benefits creators by positioning them to be packaged with high-end directors, screenwriters, and producers. We’re thrilled to continue our track record of translating our best-selling award-winning library with the best TV talent in the business but now with the undisputed leader of the new streaming era.”

“BOOM! characters are innately special, they’re colorful, diverse and varied and their stories have the power to ignite something in all of us,” Brian Wright, vice president of original series at Netflix, added. “We can’t wait to bring these stories from the page to the screen to fans in every corner of the world.”

For fans of BOOM!’s original content – and people who are just fans of good narrative stories – this news will surely be a pleasant surprise. The publisher has put out a slew of fan-favorite franchises in recent years, including Lumberjanes, Once & Future, Something Is Killing the Children, Bone Parish, and The Avant-Guards.

BOOM! and Netflix have already been working on a feature film adaptation of The Unsound, the 2017 horror book from Cullen Bunn and Jack Cole. The pair also previously collaborated on a graphic novel tie-in for Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance last year.

BOOM! has multiple film and TV projects already in development, with a first look film deal with 20th Century Studios/The Walt Disney Company that lasts through 2021. That deal had previously led to a star-studded adaptation of The Mouse Guard, only for the project to be scrapped just weeks before production.

What do you think of BOOM! and Netflix striking a first-look TV deal? Which BOOM! series would you most like to see adapted into a Netflix show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!