Dustin Gebel
During the Image Comics Presents: Enter the MASSIVE-VERSE panel at San Diego Comic Con, it was revealed that the series NO/ONE is being continued/adapted into a feature film, I AM NO/ONE. The collaboration comes from Black Market Narrative (the media company behind the Massive-Verse titles) and production company ZQ Entertainment. The film is described as a found footage true crime superhero story, based on Kyle Higgins, Brian Buccellato and Geraldo Borges’s comic and the podcast companion starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Patton Oswald.
Higgins spoke about the experience of switching between mediums, stating:
“As both a storyteller and a world-builder, immersion is incredibly important to me. From day one, when Brian and I embarked on this journey nearly three years ago, we planned this multi-narrative approach in a way that would allow us to play to the strengths of our favorite mediums, designing a story that—while standing on its own in each format—became incredibly additive when experiencing all aspects of it together. I am incredibly excited to make my feature-film directing debut on a project so intensely personal and that speaks to the type of boundary-pushing, outside-the-box storytelling that I pride myself on trying to achieve.
Higgins and Buccellato are writing the screenplay for the feature while ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian, Petr Jákl, and Steven Schneider are producing. Schneider, whose work includes Paranormal Activity, Late Night with the Devil, and more seems to be the perfect fit for the found footage angle of the movie. The press release describes the film as “sit down interviews, phone and drone footage, news coverage, and first-person GoPro and helmet videography.”
That aspect of blending formats and techniques mirrors the multimedia aspect of the comic, which also included newspaper clippings, the previously mentioned podcast, and viral videos.
In the press release, Schneider described the appeal of the story, stating:
“Unconventional storytelling makes for the most compelling narratives, particularly when it comes to film. Even when playing within the rules of genre convention, audiences want to be surprised. They deserve it. I AM NO/ONE being structured as a documentary, that is also in-universe with the comic and podcast, is something that has never been done before. And that alone is incredibly exciting to me.”
The announcement comes just as NO/ONE finished its ten issue comic run last week, ending alongside the companion podcast, Who is NO/ONE? The two end one segment of the story while not actually revealing the identity of the masked vigilante, teeing up the film.
Buccellato discussed using the film of the conclusion, stating:
“This film is a culmination of over three years of meticulous planning and world building and I am so excited to be embarking on the final leg of this journey. Executing a superhero murder-mystery across multiple mediums is the biggest creative swing we’ve ever taken. We’re proud that each element stands on its own, and can’t wait to bring it all together for a truly one-of-a-kind storytelling experience.”
All issues and episodes are available now. The NO/ONE comic books are now available at comic book shops and across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play. The podcast is available on all podcast platforms as well as the WHO IS NO/ONE in-universe website, The Drop.
