Skybound Entertainment and Universal Pictures have announced Image Comics series Birthright is being developed as a feature film, with Despicable Me writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio set to write the script. According to the press release, “Birthright follows the story of the Rhodes family who suffer the unthinkable when their young son Mikey disappears. The story follows the family as they discover just what happened to Mikey.”

Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan‘s epic fantasy story is one of the coolest series to come from Image Comics in the past few years. It centers on a family that has to face the unimaginable when their young son goes missing in the woods. But one year later, their child returns as a fully grown adult, having come back from a world that no one can even imagine. Birthright is a a story as much about family dynamics as it is about Dark Crystal style epic fantasy.

According to Skybound president Bryan Furst, “Birthright has been a part of Skybound’s top-tier comic roster for almost three years now and we’re thrilled to expand upon its large, sweeping story. We’re so inspired by Cinco and Ken’s passion for Josh and Andrei’s brilliant comic, and couldn’t imagine better voices to bring heart and humor to this unique family adventure.”

In a statement from series co-creator Joshua Williamson, the writer said, “Birthright is a giant fantasy epic, but at its core it’s a story about family, and I’m really excited that a creative team who values those same storytelling elements will be adapting Birthright. Andrei and I have put so much of ourselves into developing the Birthright comic and we know that Cinco, Ken and the entire Skybound team will do the same as they adapt it for the big screen.”

Birthright joins as the third feature attached to Skybound Entertainment’s first look deal with Universal. Previously announced projects include Robert Kirkman‘s long-running comic series Invincible and the Skybound/Image comic series Kill the Minotaur. With so many movies coming based on Marvel, DC, and now Valiant Comics, it’s great to see the treasure trove of creator-owned books from Image, which have made for some of the best comic book series of the past decade, finally get their shot at big screen glory.

Are you excited to see this latest fantasy epic come to the big screen? Let us know in the comments.

Images: Skybound Entertainment / Image Comics

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