Soska Sisters to Direct ‘Painkiller Jane’ Adaptation (Exclusive)

The Soska Sisters, the twin horror-movie directors behind the cult slasher American Mary, have signed on to helm the adaptation of Painkiller Jane, a comic created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada.

Palmiotti, via his Paperfilms banner, and Solipsist Films’ Stephen L’Heureux are producing.

Jane centers on the titular heroine, a cop, who, along with with her best friend and partner, goes undercover into an interconnected drug ring. When her identity is exposed, Jane is tortured, which leaves her with preternatural regenerating abilities and a high tolerance for pain. 

And just like the character, the screen adaptations for Jane have proved equally resilient at regenerating.

The SyFy channel aired a made-for-TV movie in 2005 with Emmanuelle Vaugier as the heroine. That was followed in 2007 with a series, this time with Kristanna Loken in the title role.

Now Palmiotti and L’Heureux, who is a producer on the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, are plotting an indie action thriller.

Palmiotti was an inker who segued into publishing and writing, and currently co-writes All-Star Western for DC. He runs Paperfilms with Amanda Conner and Justin Gray. The company is in the business of creating intellectual properties, working in the spheres of comics, video games and TV. (Quesada, meanwhile, is now the editor-in-chief of Marvel’s comics division.)

The Soska twins, Jen and Sylvia, broke into films with their first effort, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, but it was their follow-up, American Mary, with its female themes and strong reviews, that garnered the duo a cult following.

The pair recently wrapped Vendetta for WWE Studios and Lionsgate, and their See No Evil 2 is slated to be released later this year. They are repped by APA, Zero Gravity and Joel VanderKloot of Nelson Davis. 

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com
Twitter: @borys_kit

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