Cult comic book antihero Painkiller Jane is coming to the big screen and the perfect directors have signed on to bring her to life.
THR reports that the Soska Sisters (American Mary, Dead Hooker In A Trunk) will bring Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada’s cult comic about “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.”
Aside from this being the first female-fronted superhero movie by a female director (or female directors, in this case) since Rachel Talalay with 1995’s Tank Girl (or 1980 with Jeannot Szwarcz and Supergirl if you’re being strict with the definition), if they keep her true to the comic she’ll be the first LGBT superhero on the big screen too.
Given how unflinchingly bold the Soska have been with their movies and how honest their portrayal of female sexuality is, there’s certainly no reason to think they’d consider compromising on Jane’s bisexuality, or using it purely for titillation.
Painkiller Jane has previously been adapted twice for Syfy, both as a TV movie with Emmanuelle Vaugier (Saw II), and a series with Kristianna Loken (Bloodrayne).
The Soskas haven’t stopped working since American Mary came out last year, with See No Evil 2 set for US release later this year and action movie Vendetta just having wrapped, and they seem like the perfect choice to take on this material.
In fact, if it meets our expectations, it could well be a huge watershed moment for superhero movies – proving just how versatile and provocative the source material can be when it’s treated with respect.
You can buy American Mary on Blu-ray for £6 at Amazon.co.uk.
