A ‘Kick-Ass’ start to next summer’s movie season

The official Lion’s Gate Movies twitter feed announced that the adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s comic “Kick-Ass” will hit theaters April 16th, 2010. This seems to put the final piece in place for the long winding road behind this movie.

The comic tells the story of an average high school kid who decides to become a super-hero, despite having no super-powers, training or even equipment. The screenplay was shot down after being shopped around to movie studios. It was deemed far too violent and profane for the ages of the characters involved.

However, director/co-writer Matthew Vaughn believed in the project so much that he refused to soften the story. Instead he went out and beat the bushes to independently raise financing for the movie.

After shooting the film, it remained without a distributor. Vaughn brought a few clips to show at the San Diego Comic-Con and the crowds roared in approval. This brought about a three-way bidding war for the rights to the once unwanted movie. Fanboys have embraced it, but will it catch on with more mainstream audiences? That remains to be seen, but with all the obstacles it’s already overcome, I wouldn’t bet against it.