Stan Lee Unveils ‘Arch Alien’ Movie Franchise Plan
Stan Lee’s POW! Media is teaming with Taipei-based Hualien Media and Mission Control Entertainment on development of “Arch Alien” as an action franchise.
Lee and the companies announced the producing alliance Friday. Ralph Hemecker will direct from a script he co-wrote with Bill Macdonald. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The project was unveiled in advance of Lee’s annual Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. Principal photography is set to start on March 7 with shooting taking place in the U.S. and China.
Hualien Media will fully finance the film, with Marcus Morton producing. Hualien Media’s George Hsieh, Brandon Millan, Gill Champion and Sam Frankel are executive producing.
The story and characters were written by Lee, Macdonald and Hemecker. Macdonald is known for his work on HBO’s “Rome” and Hemecker has credits on CW’s “The Flash” and ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.”
“Leave it to Stan Lee to not only reinvent himself, but wholly immerse himself in a new film property! Part thriller, part sci-fi, part paranormal, but all Lee!” Macdonald stated.
It’s the second project Lee has unveiled this week. On Oct. 28, he announced that Li Bingbing will star in the superhero movie “Realm” for Chinese producer-distributor Fundamental Films and Stan Lee Global Entertainment.
Plot details are under wraps for “Realm,” which has a script by “Predators” writer Alex Litvak. The story is based on an original idea from Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men.
Lee is the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In 2001, he founded POW! Entertainment, which formed Stan Lee Global Entertainment in 2014 as a joint venture with a Hong Kong-based investor.
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