In case you haven’t seen it yet—and if you haven’t, you either don’t really care or have been buried alive for the last few days—the trailer for Red is out.

I’ve already written that I’ve come to terms with adaptations, and this one specifically. In this case, I don’t even really count it as an adaptation. Other than the title, some character names, and the very general concept of the original, this has very little in common with the graphic novel.

As even Warren Ellis himself has stated, this is not necessarily a bad thing. What would a film version of the original have looked like? Good question, in light of what Mr. Ellis discusses about comic book page length and movie run time (hint, there’s not enough in the 4 issues of Red to actually make a movie).

Divesting this movie from its relationship to the graphic novel is very easy. They’ve even postulated that the title is an acronym for some kind of cutesy designation.

They took something very, very dark and cynical and made it relatively light and frothy.

Which may sound like a condemnation, but it’s not. It is simply an observation.

I’m looking forward to this, but I don’t think it is something that screams to be seen in the theatre—at least not for me. Once it’s on DVD, though, I’ll be sure to check it out.

Remembering that this is about Paul Moses’ brother, Frank.

To read a previous post I made about Red, go here.

To read Warren Ellis’ thoughts on it, go here.

It seems my pants are safe and no tarp is necessary.

The news now is that Guy Ritchie is doing a King Arthur movie (yay!) but not the one penned by Warren “motherfuckin’ Nextwave bitches!” Ellis (boo!).

This is certainly not to say that John Hodges is not a talented writer. He certainly is. Shallow Grave and Trainspotting were both excellent, and I even enjoyed A Life Less Ordinary. His other stuff, I don’t know.

This isn’t about John Hodges being teh Suckage. This is about Warren “Global Frequency” Ellis being a god among comic writers, and just writers in general.

I’m hoping that the Ellis script is still out there, somewhere, and that someone is going to grab it and go with it. I’m hoping it is a director that is willing to be led by Ellis’ vision. The fact is, Ellis has worked in just about every genre imaginable in comics, including fantasy/sword & sorcery. He’s always entertaining, always different. I can’t even imagine where a Warren Ellis King Arthur script would take us.

But it’s a journey I want to be on.

In the realm of “WTF?” we are getting three—yes, three—King Arthur movies in the future.

Because Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur wasn’t enough to kill the legend . . . though I’m sure it came damn close.

Actually, if you pretend it has nothing whatshowever to do with the King Arthur legend, that movie is a kind of a fun romp. I mean, Clive Owen, Ray Winstone and Ray Stevenson all together with weapons and armour and kicking all kinds of ass? Yeah, that’s a good popcorn movie. It’s a pretty cool D&D movie because—like the awesome the 13th Warrior—it is totally ahistorical in its presentation of the period: the technology, weapons, armour, and tactics.

But I digress. I tend to do that a lot.

Okay, so we have Bryan Singer directing a remake of John Boorman’s Excalibur, we have Sylvain White (he of the Losers) doing a movie about the formation of the Round Table, and now we apparently will have Guy Ritchie (riding high on Sherlock Holmes) directing a script penned by Warren “he’s Warren Fucking Ellis, bitch” Ellis.

King Arthur script penned by Warren “Planetary” Ellis? Now I need a new pair of pants. Direct by Guy “Snatch” Ritchie . . . hmmmm. Well, how about Guy “Sherlock Holmes” Ritchie? Now I need a new pair of pants and a tarp. Clean up on aisle 3!

As to Bryan Singer’s project: you’re going to remake Excalibur? Really? Because that is screaming for a remake, is it? There are those out there who will slag that movie. Maybe it’s because I was like 12 when I first saw it (boobies!). Maybe because it was my first exposure to Carmena Burana. Maybe because Nicol Williamson totally ruled as Merlin. Whatever the reason, I am a total fanboy for Excalibur. I love the movie. I refuse to accept it is flawed . . . maybe a little . . . shut up!

Considering that the King Arthur legend is totally public domain, why not just go with one’s own interpretation of the legend? I can’t honestly see any reason to “remake” Excalibur, when all it will really be is an interpretation of a legend that’s about 1500 years old.

And Sylvain White? Dude, if you do justice to the Losers, you get a free pass. Feel free to Fuqua it. I’ll still love you. Mess up with the Losers and you get a swift kick in the rhetorical junk.