J.J. Abrams + Micronauts = FANBOY EXPLOSIONS!

Raise your hand if you remember the Micronauts!

No one?  Well, crap, I feel old.

And what’s worse, the Micronauts actually were before my time too.  If you’re one of those few people that actually remembers the toys or comics beyond vague and hazy childhood recollections – congratulations – you’re older than me.

The only reason I know of them is because I have several back issues of the Micronauts series at Marvel sitting in a longbox at home.  I dug them as a kid and still kind of dig them now – especially Bug.  Bug’s the man.

In any case – the Micronauts are in the news again, poised to make a comeback.  J.J. Abrams, producer and/or writer and/or director of Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield, and Star Trek; is in talks to produce a film version of the further adventures of Arcturus, Bug, and Marionette.  And you know what?  Despite the fact that it would be based on tiny toys that no one under the age of thirty remembers, will still be a better movie than Transformers 2: the Fall of Michael Bay.

Comingsoon.net, by way of the Wall Street Journal, has the story.  And this quote from JJ Abrams – which is an important quote to remember while we complain about lack of star-power for lead roles in some upcoming films (Thor): “Sometimes, when someone is not a celebrity and you are casting them in a role, everyone who is in a seat of authority voices questions about that actor’s talent, sex appeal, looks, ability – their everything,” Abrams said.  “But then they get the role, and suddenly they are on the cover of every magazine and nobody questions those things again.  In retrospect, everyone says, ‘Of course that person is a star.’”

We saw this with Iron Man two years ago – no one believed that Stark was a big enough character to bring in the masses – and we all know how that turned out.  So here’s hoping Abrams can bring that sort of quality to Micronauts.  Judging from his past work (shitty script for the Superman reboot notwithstanding) – he’s got my trust.