300 producers option another graphic novel

With the back catalogue of such comic-book luminaries as Frank Miller and Alan Moore already being plundered for movie scripts, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling at Warren Ellis’ door.

And his attitude seems to swing more towards Miller’s attitude than Moore’s – as he’s sold the rights to his graphic novel Ocean to production company Hollywood Gang, run by 300 producer Gianni Nunnari and his partner Nick Wechsler.

According to Wechsler, who gassed to Variety that the book is “"an alien thriller with a fresh take on the origin of man,” Ocean sees thousands of coffins containing angelic bodies and a huge weapon of mass destruction discovered on Jupiter’s moon Europa (so that’s where Saddam was hiding it!). A UN weapons inspector is dispatched to look into it and returns with a huge secret about the history of mankind. Were we all seeded by an alien race? Who knows? We bet Arthur C Clarke might have an idea, as it sounds like the plot that drove his script for 2001 and its follow-up novels.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.