Netflix buys Kingsman and Kick-Ass comic book publisher Millarworld

Netflix has just made its first acquisition…

And it’s the guys who brought you ‘Kick-Ass’ and ‘Kingsman’.

Mark Millar is a big name when it comes to comic books. He’s the man behind Marvel’s ‘Civil War’ as well as ‘Old Man Logan’ and even ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’.

And now his company, Millarworld, has been bought up by Netflix.

“Warner Bros bought DC Comics in 1968. Disney bought Marvel in 2009. Today Netflix purchased Millarworld and I’m still blinking,” he said in a statement. “This is only the third time in history a comic-book company purchase on this scale has ever happened.”

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Why is this such a big deal?

Well, Mark Millar founded Millarworld just 15 years ago, as a creator-owned comic book publisher which would allow creators to retain rights to their work.

“This was a chance to control the characters created and reap the rewards from any future movies, TV or merchandise that ever came from those characters and books,” he explains. “Over the years, Millarworld has amassed twenty different franchises working with the world’s greatest artists and now Millarworld has been bought by the hottest, most exciting entertainment company on the planet.”

Crucially, Millarworld has already resulted in some big screen hits.

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is about to follow up with a sequel, ‘The Golden Circle’… and while the ‘Kick-Ass’ sequel failed to set critics’ hearts on fire, the original movie remains a firm favourite of many.

And there’s plenty more where that came from.

“Mark has created a next-generation comics universe, full of indelible characters living in situations people around the world can identify easily with,” said Netflix boss, Ted Sarandos. “We look forward to creating new Netflix Originals from several existing franchises as well as new super-hero, anti-hero, fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories Mark and his team will continue to create and publish.”

What does this mean?

Well, for now we’ll have to wait and see.

The film rights for ‘Kick-Ass’ are presumably still held by Universal Pictures, with ‘Kingsman’ over at 20^th Century Fox… and I doubt they’re ready to give up the franchise just yet.

But there are already numerous scripts and projects up in the air, such as the highly-anticipated ‘Nemesis’ as well as ‘Chrononauts’ and even an adaptation of ‘Starlight’.

Whether or not they already found homes before the acquisition remains to be seen.

Either way, it’s exciting times… and we can count on some exciting new projects ahead.

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