If you are a fan of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard and have been waiting patiently since 2016 to see your favorite graphic novel to make it to the big screen, your patience is about to pay off.
That Hashtag Show is saying that director Wes Ball (Maze Runner) will start shooting Mouse Guard in and around Los Angeles in January 2019. Fox has given the film a $150 million budget, and motion capture animation will bring the mice to photorealistic life.
Mouse Guard is a line of graphic novels created in 2006 by David Petersen detailing a society of anthropomorphic mice living a medieval era. The titular guard are a band of warrior mice dedicated to protect their mice brethren from predators and other dangers. The concept has won two Eisner Awards, the comic book industry’s version of the Oscars, for the book.
Ball will be working from a script by D.W. Harper (Alien: Covenant), which was a polish on the original script by Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The film is produced by Petersen and Matt Reeves.
The only potential bump in the road is that Fox’s sale to Disney might be completed before the film starts shooting. Fox obviously thinks the concept has the potential to spawn a franchise. If Disney feels differently, they might balk on the $150 million budget, putting the project in danger.
