And lately I've been thinking about the possibility of a movie version of the story. And it's not as implausible as I originally thought.
Before 1602, my favorite storyline was the Secret Wars (I've only read the original), but the characters were so diverse and the story so crazy, set within such a larger continuty, that a movie seemed impossible (although when I first had the thought of a Secret Wars film, it was before all the comic book films we have now, back around Spider-Man 2). And so when I recently started thinking of a 1602 film I thought the same problem would arise. But the continuity issues aren't there, all those other storylines don't have to be explained. Then I started thinking about the roster.
Heroes throughout the 1602 universe include variants of Nick Fury, Bruce Banner/Hulk (a villain in 1602), Iron Man (also a villain in 1602), Black Widow (another hero/villain in 1602), Dr. Strange and Clea Strange, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Professor X, Phoenix, Iceman, Cyclops, Beast, Angel, the Watcher, the Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Thor, Giant Man, and Wasp. Looking over those names, which ones have you seen in films? Fury, Hulk, Thor, Cap, and Iron Man are all big stars now thanks to the Avengers series. Professor X and his students have all been featured in at least one X-Men film. Spider-Man has started his second major franchise, the Fantastic Four had 2 films and are getting rebooted soon, and even Daredevil was exposed to mass audiences within the last 10 years.
So that leaves the heroes that haven't been introduced to audiences yet... Ant-Man has his own movie on the way, almost certain to include the Wasp, and Dr. Strange will have a movie as well, again almost certain to include Clea. That leaves just the watcher, who could easily be incorporated into the new Fantastic Four film.
In addition to the heroes, some non-super-powered characters are (in normal Marvel names): Dum Dum Dugan (featured in Captain America: The First Avenger), Jonah Jameson (likely to be in the Spider-Man sequel), James Rhodes (from Iron Man 1 and 2), General Ross (The Incredible Hulk), Richard and Mary Parker (Peter's parents, seen in The Amazing Spider-Man), and Namor and Namorita, who are the only ones in this list that might not be exposed to the masses within the next few years -- but Namor has had a few hints towards his existence in the MCU, and he could work well in the new FF flick.
Now let's check out the villains....
Magneto (from the X-Men films) and his Brotherhood, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (read my thoughts on how they should be incorporated into film here) and Toad (from the first X-Men film), Dr. Doom (from the X-Men films), Norman Osborn (from every Spider-Man film), Dr. Octopus (from Spider-Man 2), Curt Connors (from The Amazing Spider-Man), the Frightful Four (the Wizard, the Sandman, Medusa, and the Trapster -- this team could be introduced in full or in concept in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie to distance it from the previous films focusing on Doom), Kingpin and Bullseye (both from Daredevil), and some assassins that are hybrids of Hydra (Captain America) and the Vulture (could be introduced in a future Spider-Man film).
So the majority of the characters involved (not including characters original to 1602) have already been introduced to movie audiences. The one that haven't either will be within a few years, or may be, or, hey, if nothing else, the movie could deal with having to either introduce some, omit some, or replace some with more familiar faces.
Point is, 1602 could actually work as a film. Or rather, as a film series. I'm thinking one movie for each series (4 total) would work out really well, and none of the sequels are super dependent on the other (OK, maybe Spider-Man is dependent New World). Now I know what the big hiccup would be -- rights and studios.
The Avengers are at Marvel, the X-Men and Fantastic Four are at Fox, and Spider-Man is at Sony. However, the studios have talked about working on projects together, and we might start seeing some of that. There's a ton of talk about Spider-Man joining the Avengers. The studios agreed to use buildings from each other's films, which was only scrapped due to timing issues. Fox and Marvel have said that they are looking for ways to make the films seem like they come from the same studio, and sharing characters like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (read more about my ideas for Fox and the MCU here, here, and here).
1602 would be a great way for the studios to work together, for the characters to have some shared storylines, but without either studio have to worry about changing their long-term goals having to fit into the movies of the other studios.
In short, I want 1602 movies. The end.
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