Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in and produce a filmed adaptation of “Oblivion Song,” a graphic novel series co-written by “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman.
“Oblivion Song” was a comic series of five books released by Image Comics beginning in 2018. It’s the story of a man named Nathan Cole who makes daily trips to rescue those still living in the apocalyptic hellscape known as Oblivion, a part of Philadelphia lost a decade earlier along with 300,000 of its citizens.
Kirkman wrote “Oblivion Song” with Lorenzo De Felici. No screenwriter or director has been attached to the film.
New Republic Pictures, which is led by producers Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer, acquired the graphic novel series and will produce. Gyllenhaal will also produce with Riva Marker on behalf of their Nine Stories banner. Kirkman will also produce along with David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst of Skybound Entertainment.
“We’re thrilled to partner with New Republic and Skybound on Robert Kirkman’s mind-blowingly captivating series,” Marker said in a statement. “When faced with a cataclysmic event that permanently alters our lives, what would we choose to save? Just as Kirkman did with ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Invincible,’ in ‘Oblivion Song,’ he’s created the potential for a franchise that is profoundly entertaining, and the perfect opportunity to explore big questions we’re reckoning with globally.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to find such great partners in New Republic and Nine Stories,” Kirkman said. “Both companies have a tremendous reputation for premium storytelling at the highest level, and we can’t wait to see Jake bring this character to life on the big screen. We are so fortunate to have assembled a team that is as passionate about this comic as we are.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Nine Stories and Skybound to help bring Robert and Lorenzo’s visionary comic to life. ‘Oblivion Song’ is a rare combination of spectacle, originality, and masterful, multi-volume storytelling, which is basically everything we love in the world,” Oliver and Fischer said.
This is the first project announced under the first-look deal with New Republic and Nine Stories. New Republic has since announced first-look deals with Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton’s Dirty Films and Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment.
Gyllenhaal will next be seen in Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” for Universal, also produced by New Republic, and Antoine Fuqua’s “The Guilty” for Netflix.
The deal was negotiated by WME and attorney Carlos Goodman on behalf of Gyllenhaal and Nine Stories.