'John Wick' Creator To Adapt Politically Charged Comic Book Series 'Calexit'

John Wick creator Chad Stahelski will produce an adaptation of Black Mask Studios’ politically charged comic Calexit by writer Matteo Pizzolo.

The comic was announced back in 2017 and was written by Pizzolo with art by Amancay Nahuelpan. The comic specifically aimed to capture the #Resist and #NotMyPresident political movements by telling a story of California resisting a democratically elected fascist, autocratic President. Following the election of this President, Californians engage in massive protests and shut down California’s LAX and SFO airports.

In response the president signs an executive order to deport all immigrants. California answers by declaring itself a Sanctuary State. However, not all of California agrees and it breaks into two different territories the Sovereign Citizens Coalition, which sides with the President and the Pacific Coast Sister Cities Alliance that is joined by the Mexican state of Tijuana. Once Tijuana joins the federal government invades California and institutes marital law.

Following a year of martial law in Occupied Los Angeles, the series follows Jamil a 25-year old courier and Zora, a 27-year old leader of the Pacific Coast Sister Cities Resistance. The two meet in a prison camp in Occupied Los Angeles where they escape together.

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At the time of the comic’s announcement, Pizzolo stated, “This is a special moment in the history of comics. We’re experiencing a real renaissance of progressive and political comic books and graphic novels. It’s not by accident that the first comic to win a National Book Award is the incredible MARCH by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, or that images of anti-fascist superheroes are capturing the imaginations of people around the world right now. There’s never been a more diverse range of comics that speak to our politics here at home or to the unrest around the world.”

In an interview with LAist, he also made clear that the president in the comic is a “Trump-like figure.” He said, “It's a clear nod to Trump, the way that it's in the book, but it's only on the first page. Trump's not a character in it, and it's not about Trump. There's a newsreel that happens in the beginning, and there are a couple paragraphs of the president speaking in the syntax of Trump. I hadn't realized it until I did it, but it was really fun to write in the syntax of Trump [laughs]. The cadence of how he talks is fun to write. It's bombastic with no self-reflection, so I never have to go back and revise it.”

Black Mask co-founder Brett Gurewitz, who is also producing the film added, “I can’t think of a time when confronting the status quo with progressive, political art has been more important. Black Mask Studios has consistently focused on stories that are both entertaining and have a real message driving them. With OCCUPY COMICS, we published stories devoted to the goals and themes of the Occupy movement. Since then, we published stories about living under a fascist state (GODKILLER), about fighting celebrity politicians (YOUNG TERRORISTS) and gentrification (THE DREGS). We’ve published the 2017 GLAAD nominee KIM & KIM, and the creators of the breakout hit BLACK have donated proceeds to Black Lives Matter. The fact that the comic market is supporting brave voices like these is a real testament to comics’ crucial role in our national and international cultural dialogue.”

This film is the latest in a growing list of projects that Stahelski has in development. Next up on his docket is a reboot of Highlander starring Henry Cavill. He also is attached to Paramount’s Rainbow Six film alongside Michael B. Jordan.

What do you make of Stahelski taking on this project?

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