Netflix holds the rights to some of the most celebrated and coveted graphic novels out there. Which titles are in the running for adaptations on the streamer? Here’s the full list of adaptations confirmed, in development, and likely shelved.
Netflix first entered the world of comic book adaptations back in 2019 with Polar, a film starring Mads Mikkelsen and Katheryn Winnick. Since then, some of the streamer’s most popular projects have had their roots in comics, from Heartstopper to The Umbrella Academy to The Sandman, and beyond. That success has stretched to the big screen too, most notably with The Old Guard (2020) and its sequel.
This list is just of announced projects, but don’t forget Netflix options comics constantly. Case in point, we can confirm Radio Spaceman by Greg Hinkle and Mike Mignola has been optioned with the view of turning it into a series.
As we look ahead to what’s in store for the future, Netflix has some fan-favorite titles in development. Let’s take a tour.
Development stalled/potentially shelved
Listed below are comics that Netflix holds the rights to, but there have been no significant developments or traction in over a three year period. While we cannot confirm that they have been dropped or shelved, it seems likely given the lack of updates:
- Nocterra by Scott Snyder and artist Tony S. Daniel: An adaptation was revealed to be in the works back in 2021 with writer Roberto Patino at the helm. There have since been little to no developments.
- Bang! by Matt Kindt and Zak Olkewicz: There have been no developments since the project was revealed in 2022. The spy thriller was set to be helmed by David Leitch and headlined by Idris Elba.
- Grendel by Matt Wagner – Grendel is a high-profile casualty that was actually officially dropped. Based on Matt Wagner’s award-winning Dark Horse comic, Netflix ordered it as a series, and Abubakr Ali filmed the role. However, Netflix opted not to move forward with it in late 2022 and allowed the producers to shop it elsewhere, although given that it’s never materialized, they must’ve hit a brick wall.
- Mind MGMT by Matt Kindt: This series was to be executive-produced by Curtis Gwinn (Stranger Things).
- Ball & Chain by Scott Lobdell: Revealed by Netflix back in 2020, this movie had both Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt attached. Years later, it appears as if the adaptation of Lobdell’s 90s comic book has been shelved.
- Irredeemable & Incorruptible by Mark Waid and Peter Krause: BAFTA Film Award winner Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall) was attached to both projects when the streamer announced them in 2022. Since that announcement, there have been no significant developments or updates.
- Lady Killer – Based on the Dark Horse comic by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, this adaptation was announced in May 2021 with Blake Lively attached to star as a 1950s housewife who moonlights as a highly-trained assassin. Diablo Cody was set to write the screenplay, but there have been zero updates since the initial announcement.
- Mystery Girl by Paul Tobin and Alberto Alburquerque: Revealed in 2021, but there have been no updates since, so we can assume the project has been shelved.
- The Goon by Eric Powell – This beloved comic has spent over a decade in development hell. Back in July 2022, director Tim Miller announced that the long-gestating animated feature was finally heading to Netflix. Given the lack of news since, its status is incredibly murky, but it’s definitely an IP the streamer holds.
- The Unsound by Cullen Bunn and Jack T. Cole: Announced way back in 2019 for a feature movie directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Shazam!), but has likely been shelved.
Barbaric
Status: Officially green-lit
Based on the bestselling comics by Michael Moreci and artist Nathan Gooden, Barbaric is described as ‘Deadpool meets Game of Thrones’. The series follows Owen the Barbarian, a man cursed to do good with what remains of his life. He wanders the realm with his talking Axe, a bloodthirsty weapon and moral compass— who also happens to have a severe drinking problem (being drunk on blood). Owen is foredoomed to help anyone who needs his mighty expertise. However, he has one unwavering mantra: he despises witches, as they were the ones who cursed him to do good deeds.
Latest update: Netflix has green-lit the series with Academy Award nominee Sheldon Turner (X-Men First Class) co-showrunning alongside Robert Rovner, who’s best known for his writing work on The CW series Supergirl. Check out all the details here.
Astronaut Down
Status: In active development
Based on the sci-fi thriller from AfterShock Comics, Astronaut Down is being adapted into a feature film. The story follows an astronaut who is launched into alternate realities on a desperate, last-ditch mission to save a dying Earth, only to discover that the mission is far more complicated and dangerous than anticipated.
The project has some serious genre weight behind the scenes. Sam Esmail (creator of Mr. Robot and director of Netflix’s Leave the World Behind) is attached to produce the feature, while F. Scott Frazier (xXx: Return of Xander Cage) is penning the screenplay.
Latest update: Announced in February 2026, the feature film is currently in active development at Netflix.
Minor Threats
Status: In active development
Jordan Blum and Hollywood superstar Patton Oswalt will co-showrun an adaptation of their best-selling title Minor Threats. The comic’s artist, Scott Hepburn, is also on board as an executive producer.
Minor Threats is a noir superhero series focusing on low-level, ‘C-list’ villains in Twilight City, a place where super-powered beings are pretty much commonplace. Gritty and dark but not without Oswalt’s quintessential black comedy, it’s another one of those edgy, subversive superhero series.
Patton Oswalt is no stranger to comic book adaptations on Netflix, previously voicing Matthew the Raven in The Sandman.
Black Hole
Status: Straight-to-series order in 2025 (according to reports)
Black Hole is one of the most seminal defining titles of indie comics, written and illustrated by Charles Burns from 1995 to 2005. The 12 issue series was first published by Kitchen Sink Press and later by Fantagraphics. An allegory for adolescence, the series takes place in the small town of Roosevelt during an aftermath of a sexually transmitted disease that causes grotesque mutations in teenagers. As teenagers succumb to the infection, they’re cast out from society and into the woods… where a serial killer hunts them down one-by-one.
The Netflix adaptation is created by Jane Schoenbrun (known for psychological horror I Saw the TV Glow), who will also direct.
Latest update: Netflix has not officially green-lit the series, but in October 2025, we reported the project had a straight-to-series order. The report also mentions that Black Hole will be a co-production between Netflix and New Regency.
BRZRKR
Status: In development
Back in 2021, Keanu Reeves made his comics debut with BRZRKR, partnering with New York Times bestselling comic book writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT, Dept. H) and artist Ron Garney (Captain America, Wolverine) to bring his vision to life. The series is hyper-violent, following an immortal half-human, half-God warrior, known as B, who’s cursed with a quench for violence, and so he takes on arduous, bloody tasks for the United States government.
Soon after the comic debuted, Netflix announced that they’d acquired the rights to the comic, revealing plans to adapt the series into both feature film followed by an anime spinoff series. Keanu Reeves himself is attached to star in both the live-action and anime projects.
Latest update: Currently, 5 years after the initial announcement, the adaptation remains stalled on the streamer. However, in late 2025, Justin Lin (who’s attached to direct the BRZRKR movie) confirmed that the project is still in the works. “I can tell you that I am at a point in my career right now where time and efficiency is driving all my decisions and the people that I want to work with, and that’s one of my favorite projects,” he told ScreenRant.
Grim
Status: Early development
Comics publisher BOOM! Studios already has a hugely exciting slate of comics being auctioned for on-screen adaptations, not least Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR. In fact, the streamer was also set to tackle best-selling comic Something is Killing the Children with the creators of Dark attached, but ultimately pulled out of the adaptation. The rights for that series have subsequently landed at Blumhouse.
However, now Netflix has set its sights on Grim, another BOOM! Studios comic. The comic is set to become an adult animated series from Al Gough and Miles Millar, the esteemed creators of Netflix’s Wednesday. Also reportedly involved is Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the supervising director on Love, Death + Robots.
Created by fan-favorite writer Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Spider-Gwen), Grim follows Jessica Harrow, a newly0recruited Reaper tasked with taking souls to the afterlife. However, unlike the rest of the Reapers, she has zero memory of what killed her and put her into her current position. In order to solve the mystery of how she died, she must first learn a bigger mystery: who is the real grim reaper?
Latest update: In November 2025, Deadline confirmed that Wednesday creators Al Gough and Miles Millar were attached. Netflix is yet to formally green-light the animated series.
Powers
Status: Early development
Eisner Award-winning comic book series Powers comes from Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. Comic fans will be very familiar with Bendis, who is one of the most celebrated Marvel Comics writers of the 2000s and 2010s. Bendis and Oeming’s creator-owned Powers series has been ongoing since it first debuted at the turn of the century.
The series has jumped around publishers over the years, beginning at Image Comics before moving to Marvel imprint Icon. The series is currently published at Dark Horse Comics. Powers blends everything great about a police procedural with superhero tropes. It follows Chicago homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who specialize in cases involving superpowers.
For the adaptation, Bendis is reportedly penning the pilot episode, while Oeming is providing visual inspiration.
Latest update: In March 2026, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that an adult animated Powers adaptation is in the works, with Bendis and Oeming actively participating in the show’s development.
Torso
Status: Early development
Powers isn’t the only comic by Brian Michael Bendis slated for an adaptation at Netflix. Classic graphic novel Torso by Bendis and Marc Andreyko is once more being auctioned for a movie adaptation. The comic has been circulated around Hollywood for decades, but never managed to nail down an adaptation. While Netflix hasn’t green-lit a movie adaptation, the streamer has set sights on finally bringing it to our screens.
A six-issue series based on true events, Torso recounts the story of Eliot Ness after his famous Al Capone escapades. When he moves back home to Cleveland, he finds himself on the hunt for a sadistic serial killer who leaves torsos in the river and taunts police officers.
Latest update: In late 2025, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Netflix had acquired the rights to the work with the aim of adapting it into a movie. This is still in very early days of development, but the report reveals that Weapons director Zach Cregger is involved, though not as a director. Both Bendis and Andreyko are involved as executive producers.
The Old Guard 3
The Old Guard 2 (L-R) Henry Golding as Tuah, Luca Marinelli as Nicky, Marwan Kenzari as Joe, Charlize Theron as Andy and KiKi Layne as Nile in The Old Guard 2. Cr. Eli Joshua Ade/Netflix © 2025
Status: Unconfirmed/Unlikely
Based on the popular comic of the same name by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, The Old Guard was made into a 2020 movie starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and Harry Melling. It returned for a sequel in 2025. However, the future of the franchise has been cast into doubt. Many fans thought a trilogy would be likely after the cliffhanger ending. Right now, a third film is not in development, and there are no signs of a return.
“I have no idea [about a third movie]. I hope for it, and I hope that audiences get it, and I hope everyone that goes to play on that third one has a ball and kicks ass and I’ll be rooting for them,” director Victoria Mahoney told Entertainment Weekly, adding that she won’t be involved if it returns: “I won’t be there, but I will be rooting for them. Sincerely, vigorously.”
Latest update: So far in 2026, there’s no indication that The Old Guard will return for a third movie.
Millarworld projects
Status: Netflix still owns Millarworld, but the status of TV/movie projects is unknown.
Netflix’s 2017 Millarworld acquisition is one of the streamer’s biggest comic book deals. The deal gave Netflix the rights to dozens of Mark Millar’s characters and stories, while keeping him on board to create new titles. To date, the Millarworld umbrella has seen a couple of notable adaptations, including Jupiter’s Legacy, The Chosen One (adapted from Millar’s American Jesus), and Super Crooks.
Netflix has not announced any further Millarworld projects, but Millar’s deal with Netflix remains intact, and the streamer still owns a number of Millar’s IPs, including Nemesis and The Magic Order. Whether these ultimately see adaptations remains to be seen. Currently, a lot of Millarworld appears to have been shelved.
Heartstopper Forever
Status: Release date confirmed for July 17, 2026
First airing in 2022, Heartstopper is based on the best-selling graphic novels by British author Alice Oseman. The series follows unlikely teenage duo Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) as they navigate their formative years in school and the trials and tribulations that come with it — including young love, as Nick and Charlie discover whether their friendship is anything more.
The series was a smash hit at Netflix, and rather than ending with Season 4, the streamer has instead adapted Oseman’s final graphic novel into a feature movie titled Heartstopper Forever. The official synopsis reads: “Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet. Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. Can first loves really last forever?”
Which of these comic book projects are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments down below!
