NY Comic-Con: RZA Teaming Up With Grant Morrison for 'Happy!' (Exclusive)

12:40 PM PDT 10/9/2012 by Borys Kit

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The rapper-actor-director is developing an adaptation of the Morrison's newest comic book, for which the comics icon will write the script.

With his directorial debut, The Man With the Iron Fists, less than a month away, RZA is continuing his push into directing.

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The former hip-hip producer and frontman for the Wu-Tang Clan is teaming up with comic book author Grant Morrison and producer Reginald Hudlin to adapt Morrison’s latest comic, Happy!, for the big screen.

RZA is attached to direct and would produce with Hudlin, a producer on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Morrison will write the script.

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The plan is to develop the project and then set it up at a studio or with a financier.

Happy! centers on Nick Sax, a scummy corrupt ex-cop and hit man. After a hit goes bad and Sax is left gravely injured, he is suddenly able to see Happy, a cheerful little blue horse who won’t give in to adversity, no matter what unpleasant obstacles are in the way. Days before Christmas, Sax teams up with the saccharine horse to save the life of a troubled kid and maybe find redemption amid the squalor of his city.

The comic debuted last month from Image Comics with art by Darick Robertson. The tone and setting have been compared to It’s a Wonderful Life, Sin City and Care Bears.

Happy! initiates the partnership between RZA and Hudlin that was announced this year at Comic-Con in San Diego. Morrison will attend New York's Comic Con, which runs Oct. 11-14.

Morrison, known for his best-selling comic writing featuring Batman, Superman and X-Men, recently wrapped up MorrisonCon, a unique comic book convention that he curated. Earlier this year, he was awarded the honor of Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to literature.

RZA made his transition into movies by scoring, then acting. Man With the Iron Fists, which Universal opens Nov. 2, marks his screenwriting debut as well. (He co-write the script with Eli Roth.) RZA also stars in the movie along with Russell Crowe, Rick Yune and Lucy Liu.

RZA and Morrison are repped by ICM Partners, which also reps the package. Hudlin is repped by WME.