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Matthew Vaughn Kicks Ass For The Lord With ‘American Jesus’

Kick-Ass is still in post production but director Matthew Vaughn is chomping at the bit to work with creator Mark Millar all over again.
By  · Published on March 26th, 2009

Kick-Ass is still in post production but director Matthew Vaughn is chomping at the bit to work with creator Mark Millar all over again.  The Hollywood Reporter says the duo plans to canoodle on a second comic adaptation of Millar’s work.  American Jesus tells the tale of a pre-teen who discovers he just may be the second coming of Jeebus Christ.  The story follows young Jodie’s experimenting with miracles, growth into manhood (godhood?), and his eventual confrontation with his moral opposite aka The Antichrist!  Millar’s comic will be spread across a trilogy of trilogies when complete… a three-issue miniseries called “Chosen” is already out, and the second miniseries, “The Resurrection”, is due this fall.

Vaughn and Millar raised independent financing for Kick-Ass due to a storyline involving violent children in violent situations.  A post-Columbine world continues to look at such entertainment with fear and disdain… American Jesus‘ controversial topic (THR refers to it’s “hot-button Christ-in-sneakers angle”) will most likely require a similar arrangement.  I love sacrilegious themes as much as the next recovering Catholic, but is it really all that shocking these days?  A truly controversial and ire-inducing film would be a dark comedy about Muhammed’s teen years… the drinking, the drugs, the sex, the murder of cartoonists who dare depict him in print…

The first issue of “American Jesus” can be read online at Newsarama.  (Thanks to /Film for the info.)

Does an American Jesus movie interest you?  Or will you wait to see if Kick-Ass fulfills the promise of Vaughn’s Layer Cake or confirms the shittiness of his Stardust… Yeah. Me too.

Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.