I never really liked the Man-Thing character in the old Marvel Comics and I haven’t liked a single film directed by Lawnmower Man visionary Brett Leonard, so I don’t have high hopes for this film. However, with a title like MAN-THING, it will at least provide a source for lots of easy jokes. What’s also interesting about this project is that I believe it is the first project produced by “Marvel Studios” which is Marvel’s new division for film production.

Here is part of the press release released by Artisan earlier today:

Los Angeles, CA, October 23, 2003 - Artisan Entertainment will bring MAN-THING, a collaboration between Marvel Studios and Fierce Entertainment, based on the popular Marvel Comics’ character, to theatres nationwide on August 27, 2004. The announcement made by Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad, Artisan Pictures’ President of Production Richard Saperstein, Artisan Entertainment Executive Vice President Patrick Gunn and Fierce Entertainment’s CEO Christopher Petzel comes as the project wraps production ahead of schedule following an incredibly successful eight-week shoot.

Adapted to the screen by Hans Rodionoff from the original 1970’s Marvel comic book character and directed by Brett Leonard, MAN-THING was produced by Marvel Studios and Fierce Entertainment in association with German equity fund Screenland Movieworld.

Marvel’s terrifying creature of the swamp, MAN-THING screams onto our screens in the new horror motion picture that presents a very different kind of character to the usual Marvel superhero.  Based on the cult comic book series that was first published in 1971, the MAN-THING is a vengeful creature born from the evil and injustices perpetrated against both man and nature.

“MAN-THING has been an unbelievably exciting project for us. We have always felt that this character’s story would translate incredibly well to the big screen as it mixes horrifying action with a truly mesmerizing and frightful anti-hero,” said Mr. Arad. “Brett is seen as one of the true pioneers in the creation of revolutionary computer-generated and mechanical effects and we now seen first-hand why. His powerful creative vision has helped bring this character to life in a thoroughly compelling manner - so much that we have decided to fast track it for release next summer, fully confident in its worldwide appeal.”

Commented Mr. Gunn, “"Uncharacteristic of the typical Marvel characters brought to life on the big screen, MAN-THING brings a chilling component not previously showcased in Marvel comic based films. We feel this film impressively introduces MAN-THING in a manner that will really thrill the viewing public .”

MAN-THING is directed by effects pioneer Brett Leonard, whose talents in the horror Sci-Fi genre have been proven by motion pictures such as groundbreaking visual effects thriller “The Lawnmower Man” and “Virtuosity” starring Academy-Award winners Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington.  He also directed one of the most successful Imax projects ever, the 3-D “T-Rex Back to the Cretaceous,” which grossed over US$100 million worldwide.

Director Brett Leonard, Fierce Entertainment and Marvel Studios assembled a truly outstanding team of professionals in bringing MAN-THING to life. The film was shot by award-winning Director of Photography Steve Arnold ("Terra Nova”, “La Spagnola"). Production design was handled by Peter Pound (storyboards for “Babe” and Alex Proyas’ “Dark City") and Tim Ferrier ("Farscape"), while the substantial visual effects work is being performed by Omnilab and Rising Sun ("The Core”, “Queen of The Damned"). Special effects and prosthetics work was provided by The Make-Up Effects Group ("The Matrix” and “Babe").

The ensemble cast include Australian icon Jack Thompson ("Original Sin”, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, “Broken Arrow"), whose breakout role in the feature film “Breaker Morant” directed by Bruce Beresford earned him numerous accolades including Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and an AFI Award for Best Actor, and acclaimed New Zealand actor Rawiri Paratene who excited critics around the world with his performance in the recent independent hit “Whale Rider”.

The cast also features newcomers Matt Le Nevez ("Garage Days” diected by Alex Proyas), Rachel Taylor ("Natalie Wood - Hollywood’s Last Child” by Peter Bogdanavich), and Steve Bastoni ("The Matrix Reloaded”, “Enter The Matrix").

Producer Avi Arad is President and CEO of Marvel Studios. Following the record-breaking success of the box office smash hit, “Spider-Man” (Columbia Pictures), and the establishment of two more proven franchises in his first Marvel features - “Blade” (New Line) and X-Men: The Movie (Twentieth Century Fox) - Arad has numerous film projects based on Marvel super heroes in various stages of development. He has aligned Marvel with several prominent studios to produce full-feature films including: Twentieth Century Fox ("X-Men 2”, “The Silver Surfer”, “Fantastic Four”, “Daredevil,” and “Elektra"), Sony Pictures ("Spider-Man 2”, “Ghost Rider"), Universal Studios ("The Hulk”, “Namor"), New Line ("Iron Man"), Dimension ("Werewolf By Night”, “Dr. Strange"), Artisan Entertainment ("The Punisher") and Paramount ("Deathlok"). His reputation has attracted some of Hollywood’s most prestigious directors (i.e. Sam Raimi, Ang Lee and Bryan Singer) and writers who are helping translate the ever-popular Marvel super heroes for the big screen.

MAN-THING was shot completely on location in Sydney, Australia. Specific locations included Wiseman’s Ferry, Serenity Cove Studios at Kurnell for exterior swamp scenes and Homebush Bay where an elaborate supernatural swamp environment was created on a sound stage.