Invincible creator explains “difficult” reason live-action movie is taking so long

An Invincible live-action movie has been in the works for years, and showrunner Robert Kirkman has finally explained why the process has had so many bumps in the road.

Invincible became the crown jewel for Prime Video since it first debuted in 2021. Since then, the streaming service has been home to one spinoff special and its explosive Season 2.

On top of producing a successful comic book and TV series, the Invincible franchise is also hoping to add a live-action movie to its ranks, but the road to making it has proven to be quite challenging.

While chatting with The Direct, Robert Kirkman explained what’s holding the project back, “I think it’s difficult. The development process is taking so long because it’s tough to figure out, okay, the comic is this one thing, and then this animated series is this other thing, and now this movie has to be this third thing, it has to provide a new experience, but, you know, maybe tell the same story, maybe tell a different story.”

He continued, “Just because, in relation to the show, it has to provide a different experience, it has to still be true to ‘Invincible’ in some interesting ways. But it has to be its own thing. It has to stand on its own. And so that’s something we’re spending a lot of time crafting. But I think when it finally happens, it’s gonna be really cool.”

The Invincible live-action movie was first announced by The Hollywood Reporter back in April 2017, which was four years before Prime Video premiered their series.

While not much was known about the movie, the outlet did confirm that Seth Rogan and his longtime collaborative partner Evan Goldberg were set to write, direct, and produce the adaptation for Universal.

Kirkman was also going to produce the movie under his company, Skybound Entertainment, and it was going to be their first deal with the movie studio.

Although it’s been seven years since the project was first brought up, Kirkman said the team was still working with Universal to get the live-action version off the ground.

However, the showrunner was very candid on on how Invincible fans shouldn’t expect the film to come out anytime in the near future.

“I think the movie absolutely has to be perfect,” Kirkman said. “And so it’s taking a lot of time, like getting the pieces aligned and getting everything to work so that we can come out and make it as good as it can possibly be. So it’s been in development for a long time, and it’s probably going to be in development for a while longer.”

For more Invincible, check out our ranking of the show’s 10 strongest characters. And be sure to keep up with the new movies streaming this month and our guide to the best movies of 2024 so far.