Producers Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, chairman of Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls the world's largest independent library of comic book characters, and Gale Anne Hurd, founder of Valhalla Motion Pictures and producer of "The Terminator" and this year's upcoming "Aeon Flux," announced today that they are developing Top Cow's spiritually themed comic book character "Magdalena" as a feature film. Kevin Taft, who recently signed a writing deal for New Line Cinema's "Alone," has been tapped to pen the script.

"Magdalena" is about a young woman named Patience who discovers that she is part of a lineage of female warriors descended from Mary Magdalene. Patience must accept her destiny in time to save the world from a supernatural evil. The film's present-day action-adventure storyline draws on elements of biblical history, reminiscent of "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown.

"'Magdalena' is exactly the kind of project we love: a strong female lead character, a story with rich mythology, and compelling characters," said Hurd. "The religious overtone adds a new dimension to the adventure story, while Kevin Taft's terrific storyline still deals with realistic, contemporary issues in an entertaining and relatable way."

"Magdalena" is the first religious-themed comic book character to be translated to film. The character has been translated into 26 languages in 55 countries and has appeared in millions of comic books worldwide.

"'Magdalena' is one of the most popular characters from the Top Cow library we have been introducing to the industry. The character, which is already available also as toys, has tremendous potential to cross over onto online, interactive games and other merchandising," said Rosenberg, adding, "Platinum Studios is very excited to be working with Gale and Valhalla on this project, because Gale has always excelled at presenting strong female characters, from 'Aeon Flux' back to 'Terminator', which was not only a seminal action movie, but also a compelling female-empowerment story," said Rosenberg, who is currently working with Hurd to produce "Atlantis Rising" as a tentpole, following up on his past success in bringing the "Men In Black" franchise to the big screen.



Co-creator and Top Cow Productions CEO, Marc Silvestri ("Witchblade," "Darkness") will also executive produce. "The need for faith in any form is what 'Magdalena' is about," said Silvestri. "Patience's journey is, ultimately, about having faith in something -- God, a loved one, or the human condition and the need to believe in something that is greater than ourselves."

Platinum Studios signed a pact with Top Cow in 2004 to develop Top Cow's comic library for film, television, and other media. Platinum Studios and Top Cow's comic books are set up at most of the major studios, including "Cowboys and Aliens" at Sony, "Unique" at Disney, "Mal Chance" at Miramax, "The Darkness" at Dimension, "Wanted" at Universal, "Inferno" at Warner Brothers, "Rising Stars" at MGM and "Fathom" at Fox, as well as a multi-picture pact with financier Gold Circle.

The picture's development will be overseen for Rosenberg and Hurd by Valhalla's Executive Vice President Gary Ventimiglia and VP of Production and Development Steve Emery, and Platinum Studios' Director of Development Aaron Severson and Director of Production Jay Burns. Top Cow Productions' President Matt Hawkins will co-produce.

Thanks to 'D'