Despite the 2003 action-adventure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bombing the first time around, 20th Century Fox is planning a reboot of the graphic novel adaptation. The studio plans to turn the title into a franchise, with Ira Napoliello and Matt Reilly overseeing the project. John Davis of Davis Entertainment will produce.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is based on the works of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, whose graphic novel is seen as a seminal entry in the genre. The story follows a team of extraordinary figures culled from great adventure literature (including Alan Quatermain, vampiress Mina Harker from Dracula, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, an American secret service agent named Sawyer, Captain Nemo, and Dorian Gray). They are called to stop a villain intent on turning the nations of the world against one another. Alan Moore describers his work as "The Justice League of Victorian England".
The first The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen debuted at number 2 at the box office, coming in behind the first Pirates of The Caribbean. It went onto earn a lackluster $178 million, and plans for a sequel were canceled. The film is notable for being Sean Connery's final leading role in a film. Also acting as a producer on the movie, he retired shortly after its release. This new The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will be a complete reboot, and is not connected to the original in any way. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen almost became a TV series in 2013, but Fox rejected the pilot that was commissioned.
The first volume of the graphic novel has its team of heroes stopping a gang war between Professor Moriarty and Fu Manchu. The second volume has them facing off against the alien invaders from H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. Some of the later volumes move the action into the 21 Century. At this time, it is not known which angle the reboot will take, or if it will take place in modern times. There is no shooting schedule set yet, and no actors or director have been locked down.