Netflix Nabs Torso Adaptation From Zach Cregger and Roy Lee
Netflix dives into true crime with Zach Cregger and Roy Lee set to produce an adaptation of the graphic novel Torso.
Netflix is taking another swing at a project Hollywood has been chasing for ages: a feature version of 'Torso,' the Brian Michael Bendis/Marc Andreyko true-crime graphic novel about Eliot Ness going after the Cleveland Torso Murderer. THR says Netflix just won the rights in a seven-figure deal after a crowded bidding war, which tells you how serious they are. Still early days, but the pieces are interesting.
Where the movie stands right now
No writer or director is attached yet. On the producing side, Zach Cregger ('Weapons') is on board via his Subconscious banner, Roy Lee is producing through Vertigo Entertainment, and Alex Hedlund and Nick Antosca are producing under their Eat the Cat label. The creators of the comic, Bendis and Andreyko, are executive producing, which is always good to see when you are dealing with a very specific tone and a real historical case.
So what is 'Torso'?
Originally a six-issue series published by Image Comics in 1998/99, 'Torso' follows Eliot Ness after the Capone takedown. Ness moves to Cleveland and winds up in the middle of a serial killer investigation. The press nicknamed the killer the Cleveland Torso Murderer because the remains often showed up as, well, torsos. Identification was incredibly tough; many victims remain John or Jane Doe to this day. The killer was never caught, and the case has all the unnerving details that stick with you: remains reportedly left in sight of Ness's office at City Hall, and postcards that Ness believed were meant to provoke him.
The long, weird road to getting 'Torso' made
- Mid-2000s: David Fincher was attached to direct from a script by Ehren Kruger. If you are imagining a spiritual cousin to 'Zodiac,' you are not alone. It fell apart.
- 2013: David Lowery ('The Green Knight') came on to write and direct. That version stalled too.
- 2017: Paul Greengrass ('The Bourne Ultimatum') took a run at it. Did not move forward.
- 2022: Corin Hardy ('The Nun') boarded. Again, no go.
Why this might finally happen
Netflix dropping seven figures after a fight to get the rights suggests they want this in their prestige-true-crime lane. Pair that with Cregger, Lee, and Antosca backing it, and the ingredients are there. Of course, 'Torso' has been the ball on the tee for nearly two decades and nobody has connected yet. If Netflix can crack the tone — gritty procedural meets unsolved American nightmare — this could be a killer (sorry) addition to their film slate.