Guy Ritchie turns to the comic books with 'Lobo'

By Sarah Sluis

Now that Watchmen is done and gone, Warner Bros. is on the lookout for its next blue superhero. They've set Guy Ritchie to direct Lobo, a DC Comics property. While the Lobo character isn't as well-known as, say, Spider-Man, I think that's all the better, since it will allow Ritchie to experiment with the characters more. Ritchie has proven himself to be a master of quippy, dialect-driven action films, and his particular style seems a natural complement to the equally stylized action and characters of comic books. In the comic book, which was first created in 1983, Lobo is an alien bounty hunter, tall, muscular, and virtually indestructible. He arrives on Earth to capture four aliens with the help of a teenage Midwestern girl (clearly put in to attract female audiences). Filming will start next year, which will probably give the movie a Summer 2011 (or 2012, depending on the visual effects) release date. Like many of its comic book cousins, the film will aim for the broad PG-13 rating.

While Lobo is a ways off, audiences can look forward to Sherlock Holmes, which will open on Christmas. Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, the appeal of this Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation will be seeing Ritchie let Holmes break free of his stuffy, "Masterpiece Theatre" depiction. The Holmes mythology includes cocaine and morphine use, a bohemian flat, weapons, and a least a few romantic liaisons, which Ritchie's adaptation (watch the trailer here) restores with relish.

While Ritchie doesn't seem to recycle his cast too much, it should be noted that I could see Robert Downey, Jr., CGI'ed and wigged, playing the role of Lobo--if he's not too busy reprising his role as another superhero, Iron Man.