‘Lobo’ Director Announced as DC Tries to Catch Up With Marvel

We know that Warner Bros. Pictures has been itching to get the DC Universe launched properly on film, but we didn't expect 'Lobo' to be the next character they picked to bring to the screen. And we're a little confused about who they chose to direct the movie as well.

Deadline reports that Brad Peyton is the studio's choice to rewrite and direct a live-action version of 'Lobo,' based on the DC Comics character. Peyton's previous work includes 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' and 'Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.' The film will be produced by Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman.

The alien Lobo is a Czarnian (although in his earliest incarnation, he was a Velorpian) who works as an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter. First appearing in 1983, the character didn't really catch on until the 1990s, when his gluttony for mindless, over-the-top violence, drinking to excess and colorful language made him a huge hit with readers. Co-creator Keith Giffen said at one point that the blue-skinned beast (who later became a biker as well) was meant as a parody of other violent anti-heroes like Wolverine and the Punisher.

Lobo's appetite for excess would seem to make him a difficult character to translate to film, but Warner Bros. (which owns DC) has been interested in trying since 2009, when Guy Ritchie was first attached to direct a script that portrayed the character as, according to Variety, "a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenage girl to stop the creatures."

Ritchie eventually left the project to concentrate on 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' and with Peyton assigned to rewrite as well as direct, it's not clear how much of that 2009 premise will remain. Also not clear: a production timeline, release date or any notions about casting (although we'd bet that Nicolas Cage is calling Peyton right now).

We were a little snarky about the whole 'launching the DC Universe' thing earlier, but with the Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and so many other characters waiting for their turn at bat, you have to wonder why Lobo is getting the nod now. Is this a DC Comics movie you'd like to see? And is Brad Peyton the guy to get it done?