Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez first announced his
intention to direct a film based on the art of
Frank Frazetta over three years ago at Comic-
Con. The director said he would develop a
fantasy tale called Fire and Ice (based on the
1983 animated film from Frazetta and Ralph
Bakshi) that would revolve around a sword-
wielding warrior who must save a princess
kidnapped by evil sorcerers. Shortly thereafter,
Rodriguez announced his intent to helm Fire and
Ice after Sin City 2, and with the latter sequel
having hit theaters (barely) this past August, it
appears that Rodriguez will indeed be moving on
to Fire and Ice with the backing of Sony
Pictures. More after the jump.
Per Deadline , Sony Pictures has acquired a
package for Fire and Ice with Rodriguez attached
to direct the live-action fantasy adaptation. The
aim is to jumpstart a new fantasy adventure
franchise inspired by the work of Franzetta, set in
a “brutal and primitive world.” Rodriguez and the
studio are interviewing writers to do another pass
on the existing screenplay as they hope to get the
project going in earnest sometime next year, with
pre-production possibly getting underway towards
the end of spring or early summer 2015.
I’ll be interested to see how this potential
franchise develops going forward. Rodriguez
hasn’t had a hit in years, with his last two films
Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
topping out at $15 million and $39 million
worldwide, respectively. The filmmaker has a
knack for keeping budgets low by working heavily
with green screen from his studio in Austin, but
can he tackle a large-scale fantasy film like Fire
and Ice and turn it into a successful franchise?
Sony is on the hunt for lucrative, multi-film
series (and they’re certainly in a precarious
position when it comes to their slate period), so
it appears that they’re willing to give it a shot.
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