StudioCanal has just announced the adaptation of the Corto Maltese comic strip. It is Frank Miller, the screenwriter and director of “Sin City”, who will be at the helm of this ambitious project.
An adaptation of the comic strip Corto Maltese by Italian author Hugo Pratt is currently in development at StudioCanal, in collaboration with Canal+. For the occasion, Frank Miller, to whom we owe Sin City in particular, will be the creator, screenwriter and executive producer of this series consisting of 6 episodes. Special effects will be overseen by Phil Tippett, who previously worked on the Star Wars and Jurassic Park franchises.
It was in 1967 that Hugo Pratt launched the Corto Maltese comic book series, an adventurous sailor who traveled the seas and oceans at the beginning of the 20th century. This richly drawn adventure tale blends fantasy and reality, with Maltese coming into contact with some of literature’s most influential figures – Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Butch Cassidy – on her travels.
“I was still a young man when I first discovered Corto Maltese’s books in the Forbidden Planet bookstore in New York.“, declared Frank Miller during this announcement. “Later, during a trip to Rome, I discovered another edition in a newsstand. The graphics were so expressive and bold that they literally stood out from the paper.”
“I was transported. It was full of magic and romantic adventures. Maltese is a scoundrel who could speak to the Gods. For me, it revealed the power of comedy without the language barrier. I’m a fan by Corto Maltese since that time. He is the symbol of the hero’s journey in its most classic form. I am extremely honored to contribute to this series and to bring to it the romance, heroism and underlying mysticism of Pratt’s creation.”
Patrizia Zanotti, a close collaborator of Hugo Pratt, also explained that the creator of Corto Maltese, who died in 1996, had great respect for Miller and his works. “Hugo Pratt immediately fell in love with the work of Frank Miller, and decided to publish it in 1998 in the Corto Maltese magazine that he himself had created.
“By their shadows, their striking inks and their daring brushstrokes, the style of Pratt and Miller is faithful to that of the classic American school, from which an author such as Milton Caniff also came. […] Pratt would have been delighted to see his character Corto Maltese reborn thanks to an author recognized for his exceptional ability to bring legendary characters to life and make them known to new generations.”