Redwall being optioned for a major movie

Oh boy. Here we go again. Earlier this year, Working Element, a production company helmed by Darren Thomas, announced that Redwall was in its portfolio.

On June 26, an IMDB page for a Redwall movie popped up with a 2014 release date. Digging a bit deeper, it is listed under "optioned" status, with the following summary attached:

Matthias, a young mouse, embarks on a quest to recover a legendary sword to save Redwall from Cluny the Scourge.

Let's turn to Wikipedia for a moment:

In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement between a potential film producer, such as a movie studio, a production company or an individual, and a writer or third party who holds ownership of a screenplay. The agreement details the exclusive rights, including the specified time period and financial obligations, the producer has to advance the essential elements, such as financing and/or talent, towards the creation of a film based on the screenplay.

To be more specific, when a screenplay is optioned, the producer has not actually purchased the right to use the screenplay; he has simply purchased the "exclusive right" to purchase the screenplay at some point in the future, if he is successful in setting up a deal to actually film a movie based on the screenplay.

This does not guarantee a Redwall movie will be made. Given the history of Redwall Film Adaptations, let's just keep our fingers crossed, and remain hopeful of course.

Darren Thomas is primarily known for producing a video, "For My Country," and the 2013 "Stargate SG-1: Unleashed" video game.

This is his official LinkedIn bio:

As President of Working Element, Darren has worked as both a creative and strategist for the entertainment industry. Beginning in mid 2010 Darren developed and implemented a content aggregation strategy that has yielded a strong and recognizable portfolio of IPs. In addition to acquisition and content development, Darren works with three partner companies to implement funding strategies for transmedia properties. Working Element currently holds rights to 5 book series and 44 individual titles.

We've reached out to several parties for comment and hope to hear back soon.

A look at Redwall TV production art

Moments ago, two eBay auctions ended on some rare Redwall TV Series production artwork. The Redwall Wiki had hoped to acquire at least one for its site library, however it was not meant to be. The opposing bidder either jumped in during the last minute or used a sniper program to win - large bids went in on both pieces with approximately 30 seconds to go for each auction, making it difficult to counter. Both auctions closed at $122.50.

The pieces of art are clearly pre-final production. The first is pencil artwork from Season 1, Episode 13, and consists of the finale battle sequence involving Cluny the Scourge and Matthias. I've included the actual scene above for comparison - you'll note Cluny's cape does not have a hole in it, for example.

The second was described as a "hand-painted background," and is also from Season 1, but from Episode 12. This giant skull is located in the Quarry residence of Asmodeus.

Unfortunately, the owner of the artwork does not provide a Certificate of Authenticity with his sales, but they are certainly collectible.

At any rate, congratulations to the bidder, and if we know you, please come forward and tell us about the art!

You can find the art after the jump

A new Redwall cover for 2014

On June 5, 2014, Random House released a new 576-page paperback edition of Redwall with new jacket artwork, and possibly new interior art. The book was published by the Vintage Children's Classics imprint of the publisher for the UK.

Of interest, the marketing copy for the book states that "In the Backstory [sic] you can learn to make a Redwall Abbey pudding!" We're not sure which particular pudding, and we're also not sure if its a recipe from The Redwall Cookbook.

Unfortunately, we can't tell you who the cover artist is, because this information is seemingly unavailable. If you can provide us with this information, please get in touch.

Bizarrely though, previewing the Amazon UK edition of the book begins withthis piece of fan artwork. This could be a publisher error, an Amazon error, or perhaps it's not an error at all and the artist was paid.

The following summary is attached to the publication:

Welcome to Redwall Abbey. Inside its enormous doors, mice live in peace, helping those in need and throwing epic feasts for the great and the good of Mossflower Woods.

But outside a grave threat is gathering. An army of evil rats led by a vicious, one-eyed warlord, is on its way.

Matthias is just one little mouse but he knows it'll take more than stones and mouse-sized arrows to keep the rats at bay. Enlisting the help of a military hare, wild sparrows and argumentative stoats, Matthias sets out to defend his freedom, his friends, and the abbey he calls home.

Chris Skaggs discusses Redwall game features

Chris Skaggs of Soma Games recently participated in an interview with Intel in which he discussed a bit about the upcoming Redwall: The Warrior Reborn game.

"We're very interested in taking the RealSense™ technology, especially the new facial tracking, and being able to map a player's face right onto the character. So if you're playing a mouse or a squirrel or a mole, you'll be able to see your expressions and you'll be able to voice the lines. And it'll show up in the game on the character. So we can rig the character's face to move with your face. And we think that'll be a big play for these characters that people really love."

"RealSense™ technology" refers to Intel® RealSense™, which you can read about in more detail here.

Soma Games also uploaded an image to their Facebook page showing what this may look like (see thumbnail).

To watch the interview in it's entirety, check it out over at the Redwall Wiki.