Although writer Brian Michael Bendis has jumped ship from Marvel Comics to rival DC Comics to take on the Man of Steel, it looks like he still has one more Marvel-inspired project on the horizon. According to Deadline, 20th Century Fox has hired Bendis to develop a script for Deadpool director Tim Miller. Right now, the movie in question is under a cloak of secrecy, but the folks at Deadline seem to have confirmed it is an X-Men universe-based film, and it already has a title: 143.
Either this is the easiest mystery to crack or that title is a big red herring. But I think they are spelling out for us fans just what this movie is. For starters, back in January Collider reported that Tim Miller was rumored to direct a movie centering on Kitty Pryde of the X-Men. As it so happens, one of Brian Michael Bendis’ favorite Marvel characters happens to be Kitty Pryde. When he was writing Ultimate Spider-Man, he made her Peter Parker’s girlfriend, and wrote a lot of stories featuring Kitty during his X-Men run. Sources at The Hollywood Reporter have seemingly confirmed that 143 and the Kitty Pryde movie are one and the same.
So what does the number “143” have to do with anything? This must be referring to Uncanny X-Men issue #143 from 1980. When it was announced that Miller was developing a Kitty Pryde movie, we here at Nerdist picked Uncanny #143 as the best issue to adapt as a solo Kitty film. This issue, the final installment of the legendary Chris Claremont and John Byrne run on the book, centers on 14-year-old Kitty’s first Christmas Eve as an X-Man; she spends the night housesitting at the X-Mansion while everyone else goes out to celebrate. This is the night a N’Garai demon chooses to attack the mansion, and an untrained and terrified Kitty has to defeat the monster all by herself.
Yes, the source material was but a 22-page story, but then again, X-Men: Days of Future Past was just a two-parter in the comics. Uncanny #143 could be expanded upon to include how Kitty discovered her powers and was recruited by the team in the first place, before getting into the horror movie of it all. This story could not only be another great showcase for a beloved female hero, it could serve as a great X-Men horror film, similar to what they are trying to do with The New Mutants, and be the first official superhero Christmas movie to boot (although I guess Iron Man 3 kind of counts, though I’d bet this will turn out better).
What do you want to see in a Miller/Bendis X-Men collaboration? Are you hoping it’s an adaptation of the classic Uncanny X-Men story, or are you hoping for a new, fresh story centering on Kitty instead? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Images: Marvel Comics
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