Rob Jabbaz, director of 2021 Taiwanese horror The Sadness, is helming a film adaptation of Crossed, the post-apocalyptic horror comic from The Boys creator Garth Ennis.
Ennis penned the script for the Crossed adaptation, reportedly said to start filming in March, according to The Hollywood Reporter who revealed the news exclusively yesterday.
First published in 2008 before launching a franchise of over 200 issues, Crossed has been described as one of the most disturbing comics of all time, and follows survivors dealing with a pandemic that causes its victims to carry out their most evil thoughts:
Carriers of the virus are generally known as the “Crossed” due to a large, cross-like rash that appears on their faces – other names include “cross-faces” and “plus-faces”. This contagion is primarily spread through bodily fluids, which the Crossed have used to great effect by treating their weapons with their fluids, as well as through other forms of direct fluidic contact such as rape and bites, assuming the victim lives long enough to turn.
Anyone who's seen The Sadness will know that Jabbaz is pretty much the perfect choice to take on Crossed. The hyper-gory horror, which was actually inspired by Crossed, follows two young lovers trying to reunite in Taipei as a viral pandemic that turns people into homicidal sadists rages across the country.
In a statement, Jabbaz expressed his excitement for the project:
“It has been a real delight working with Garth Ennis and Six Studios developing Crossed for the big screen […] From day one, our primary goal has been to deliver a faithful adaptation of the original series, along with a few new surprises. I certainly hope audiences are ready for this.”
Ennis adds:
