This one comes straight out of left field: Netflix has given a series order to an adaptation of Matt Wagner’s Grendel, and it’s already got a whole cast and everything. Abubakr Ali will star as Hunter Rose, who is not just a fencer, not just a writer, and not just a fencer-writer but also an assassin—as his alter ego, Grendel.
As you can see in Netflix’s tweet below, Grendel wears a fancy outfit and a creepy mask. The character was first introduced in 1982 and had a complicated publication history before winding up at Dark Horse, which has a first-look deal with Netflix.
From showrunner Andrew Dabb (Resident Evil, Supernatural), GRENDEL follows Hunter Rose (Abubakr Ali), a gifted fencer, writer, & assassin who seeks to avenge the death of a lost love by going to war with New York’s criminal underworld… but why beat them, when you can join them?
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) September 14, 2021
Deadline notes that Ali (Katy Keene, PowerBook II: Ghost) is “the first Arab Muslim male actor to portray a series lead in a comic book adaptation.” Andrew Dabb, a producer and writer on Supernatural, will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer on Grendel, which has lined up an interesting cast, including Jaime Ray Newman (The Punisher, The Magicians) as Jocasta Rose, a fencing trainer with whom Hunter Rose becomes involved, and Julian Black Antelope (Debris) as Argent, a Native American werewolf who works with the police.
The rest of the cast includes Madeline Zima (Twin Peaks) as Liz Sparks; Kevin Corrigan (The Get Down) as Barry Palumbo; Emma Ho (Pikwik Pack) as Stacy Palumbo; Eric Palladino (Watchmen) as Teddy Ciccone; Brittany Allen (The Boys) as Annabelle Wright; and Andy Mientus (The Flash) as Larry Stohler.
There’s no word yet on production schedule or premiere date for the eight-episode series.
