Ghost Rider Producer Buys Atlas Comics Library

Steven Paul, producer of the Ghost Rider films, has acquired the Atlas Comics library of properties and has signed a deal with Paramount to turn them into features.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount and Paul’s SP Media Group have entered into a co-production and co-financing deal for all the comics in the Atlas catalog. SP Media Group has also brought on Da Vinci Code scribe Akiva Goldsman to oversee a writers’ room that develops characters in the Atlas universe.

Production on the first project in the Paramount and Atlas partnership is scheduled to begin in 2020, with a planned release slated for 2021. The deal will see at least one superhero project from the Atlas catalog each year. Paul and SP Media Group will receive a producer credit on all films released as part of the deal.

“Intellectual property of this kind is hard to come by in this day and age, and we are excited to be working with Steven Paul and SP Media Group to bring the iconic Atlas comic book library to the big screen,” says Andrew Gumpert, chief operating officer, Paramount.

Atlas has a long history in the comics world. The publication debuted in 1939 and was once the home of comic artists including Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and Bill Everett. By 1974, Atlas split its catalog and artists with Marvel before closing shop on original content in 2010.

Paul is not a stranger to licensed films. He previously worked on a movie based on the Bratz line of toys with singer Paula Abdul.