Skydance has acquired the film rights to Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins’ Mike Hammer book series and plans to develop and produce a film adaptation.
Hammer is a no-holds-barred private investigator and the lead character of a series of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories that began with “I, the Jury” in 1947.
He became one of the most popular figures of the genre with books such as “Vengeance is Mine,” “The Big Kill” and “Kiss Me, Deadly,” having sold over 250 million copies globally. The producers reportedly have the rights to the entire Hammer catalogue.
Hammer also inspired many other famed characters including Dirty Harry, Jack Reacher and James Bond. Spillane penned the works right through until 1996. After his passing in 2006, “Road to Perdition” author Collins took over ans has published a new Hammer novel almost every year since 2008.
No writers, directors or actors are attached at this time. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Guymon Casady, Benjamin Forkner, and Ken F. Levin will produce.
The character has been caught up in a long-winded rights dispute over the years which has prevented any possible adaptation.
Various film and TV adaptations have taken place, most notably the Robert Aldrich-directed film take on “Kiss Me Deadly” in 1955. The actor most linked to the role is Stacy Keach who portrayed Hammer in a CBS series in the 1980s and reprised it for several telemovies.
Source: Deadline
