Prophet Comic Book Adaptation Coming From Jake Gyllenhaal And Extraction Director

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal's main goal throughout the years appears to be refusing to be pigeonholed into any one type of role. Audiences have come to expect the unexpected from the "Zodiac," "Nightcrawler," and "Okja" star, which is partly why it was so newsworthy when he signed up to appear in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" as the villain Mysterio, of all characters. That decision made a little more sense when he was killed off at the end of the movie (thus sparing the typically franchise-averse from one of the MCU's typical multi-film commitments), but it appears that Gyllenhaal isn't quite done with comic book adaptations just yet as he will be the leading man in "Prophet," a period piece film based on Rob Liefeld's Image Comics series.

THR brings the news that Jake Gyllenhaal will be starring in the feature film adaptation of Liefeld's "Prophet" comic series, directed by Sam Hargrave. Hargrave is most well-known for the popular Netflix action film "Extraction" (the sequel was quickly given the green light) though he has extensive experience in stunt work as a stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, action consultant, and stunt double going back to productions such as "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "The Avengers," "The Americans," "Atomic Blonde," "Deadpool 2," and more. The "Prophet" adaptation will be written by Marc Guggenheim, who has carved out his own niche among the many DC television shows airing on The CW.

"Prophet" is about a man named John Prophet, who submits himself to medical experiments conducted by the Nazis in World War II and is subsequently turned into a super-soldier. The parallels to a character like Steve Rogers immediately leap out, although taken in a darker and more, well, '90s direction. For the film adaptation, the report describes the plot as: 

"John Prophet volunteers for a German experiment near the end of World War II in order to feed his family. After a bombing buries him alive and traps him underground for 20 years, he reawakens in 1965, where things are not great for Prophet. The world has moved on without him, his daughter resents him, and KGB agents are after him to create super-soldiers from his blood."

Studio 8 will take the lead on this project, with CEO Jeff Robinov saying in a statement,

"It's been a goal of ours to work with Jake and Sam for quite some time, so we're very excited to finally be collaborating with them on this unique, action-packed genre film. I'm looking forward to seeing what they envision for bringing this story to life — a story we're sure will stand out in the comic book world as a powerful, emotionally charged and visually distinctive film."

Jake Gyllenhaal can most recently be seen in this year's film "The Guilty," currently streaming on Netflix.