This week, Platinum Studios announced that they're developing a feature film adaptation of the comic book series The Weapon, about a martial arts enthusiast and inventor who becomes a superhero: Platinum Studios to Develop The Weapon Into Movie.Which is cool... except that I was under the impression that Platinum Studios was already developing a movie version of The Weapon.
When we first heard about this project over two years ago, it was announced that Caucasian actor David Henrie had signed on to play the hero -- news that did not go over well with fans. The hero, Tommy Zhou, is Chinese American, and his ethnic heritage plays a significant part in his story. To change that would fundamentally change The Weapon itself:
"The Weapon" is about a martial arts enthusiast, Tommy Zhou, that has discovered a means to create solid objects from light -- and invented a superhero persona to promote it, The Weapon. Not believing the legends his grandfather told him as a child, Zhou's inventions unsuspectingly make him the target of a millennia-old assassin cult that's convinced he's unlocked the ancient mystical techniques of the Order of Wu-Shi-'The Way of the Weapon.'Hell, even the creator of The Weapon, Fred Van Lente, expressed that he wasn't cool with changing the character's ethnicity. Is it safe to assume that after two years, that ill-conceived iteration of the project disintegrated into development hell, and they're now giving it another go? The press release makes no mention of David Henrie. Did he get the boot?
In that case, can I hope -- call me crazy! -- that they might actually cast an Asian American actor to play an Asian American hero? I'm not holding my breath. More here: Platinum Studios trying to revive "The Weapon."