Garth Ennis has written some great, popular comic books over the years, with some of his work including the creation of the books Preacher and The Boys, and fan favorite runs on Marvel’s The Punisher. Preacher and The Boys have both gotten TV series adaptations, and ideas from Ennis’s Punisher books have made it to the screen. Five months ago, it was announced that the Ennis-created horror comic Crossed is also getting an adaptation, with the independent company Six Studios picking up the rights to make a film based on the series. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that the Crossed film is set to be directed by Rob Jabbaz.

Ennis has written the screenplay for the Crossed film, which takes place in a pandemic-stricken world, in which those who catch a disease are marked with a cross-like rash on their faces. Those afflicted follow their worst impulses — think a zombie apocalypse, but instead of zombies, these are humans who retain their intellect, but are homicidal maniacs. The screenplay Ennis wrote is said to be based on the first ten issues of the comic, but there’s a lot more source material to pull from if this film were to launch a franchise. There have been more than 200 issues of Crossed comics from various writers and artists.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, “Jabbaz knows a thing or two about horrific pandemics. He is behind the Taiwanese horror film The Sadness, which dealt with a virus that turned people violent — in a unique spin on the zombie drama. The film earned strong reviews and won best horror film and best director at Fantastic Fest, the Austin genre-centric festival.“

Six Studios is putting together a budget in $2 million to $3 million range for the project. Carl Choi of Six Studios is producing the Crossed film with Ben Hung of Retro Entertainment and Ken Levin of Nightsky Productions. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Hung and Levin developed the project with Ennis and brought the property to Six Studios. Six Studios’ Jeff Huang is executive producing with Ennis, Carl Amari, and Bill Patterson. Filming is expected to begin in March.

Jabbaz said, “It has been a real delight working with Garth Ennis and Six Studios developing Crossed for the big screen. From day one, our primary goal has been to deliver a faithful adaptation of the original series, along with a few new surprises. I certainly hope audiences are ready for this.” Ennis added, “Happy New Year. It’s 2025 and the world is catching up with the world of Crossed in all the wrong ways. So what better time to bring out the movie you’ve all been waiting for?“

Are you a fan of Crossed, and are you glad to hear that it’s getting the film treatment? What do you think of Rob Jabbaz being hired to direct? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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