Warner Bros. to Resurrect Noir Hero Mike Hammer

It looks like one of the all-time great noir anti-heroes is coming back to the big screen! The rights to Mike Hammer, the brainchild of author Mickey Spillane and the subject of a handful of classic and not-so-classic films, have been acquired by Warner Bros., who apparently have big plans for him.

The scoop originated over at Deadline, which claims that many major writers have been taking meetings regarding the direction of the character, with some of the pitches taking the character into modern day and others keeping back home in the ’40s and ’50s. Since he’s a quintessential noir icon whose sense of style feels right at home in a more hardboiled, trenchcoats-and-tommy-guns world, we’re hoping for the latter.

Although film noir is full of tough guys, their violent personas are usually tempered by soft spots and/or hearts of gold. This does not apply to Mike Hammer, who remains one of the most brutish and nasty characters in a genre filled with brutish and nasty characters. Although the concept of a violent anti-hero with no boundaries and no remorse is no longer as uncommon as it was at the time of his creation, Hammer still has the potential to be shocking and fascinating character in the right hands.

If you want an introduction to Hammer to get a head start on the film, Spillane’s work is readily available at your local bookstore. Film fans wanting a taste should check out 1955′s ‘Kiss Me Deadly,’ which is one of the craziest and most entertaining film noirs ever shot. We don’t know if the new film will be based on an existing story or if it will go in a new direction, but we can’t wait to see what comes of it.