Writer Kurt Johnstad has been tapped to write the screenplay for the upcoming film adaptation of the comic book Prophet, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The film is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal and will be directed by Sam Hargrave, the director of the hit action film Extraction. Johnstad’s work in the action genre is notable, with Johnstad having written the screenplays for both 300 films, as well as 2017’s Atomic Blonde and the 2012 film Act of Valor.
Originally appearing in a 1992 issue of the comic Youngblood, the character Prophet — named John Prophet — is a poor and homeless man living in the era of World War II. It’s there that he volunteers to take part in medical experiences by a time-traveling scientist, the results of which turn him into a super soldier.
After being placed in stasis, Prophet then awakens in the future. A Prophet revival comic was released by Image Comics in 2012, which saw the character travel 10,000 years into the future and live in an alien city. The character was created by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, who created Youngblood for Image Comics following his departure from Marvel in the ’90s.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter’s report, Studio 8 — who is working on the adaptation — will be focusing on the original story for the character, with Prophet being buried in a bombing and waking 20 years later in 1965 to a new world. The film will reportedly focus on Prophet attempting to stay away from KGB agents who are looking to create a new line of super-soldiers from his blood.
