Russo Brothers & Colin Farrell Team Up For Upcoming Comic Book Movie Ordained

Joe & Anthony Russo and The Penguin‘s Colin Farrell are coming together to create a film based on an upcoming comic book. The Russos are best known for directing several movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell will star in an adaptation of the upcoming comic book Ordained, with the Russo brothers on board as producers through their production company, AGBO. Derek Kolstad, who wrote the script for John Wick, was previously hired to work on the screenplay for Ordained.

The film will also be produced by Farrell, Farrell’s sister Claudine Farrell, Kolstad, Dinesh Shamdasani, Benjamin Simpson, Angela Russo-Otstot, and Michael Disco.

Farrell is set to play the lead role of a priest named Father Roy Craig, who discovers a mob boss’s crimes while performing last rites. When the mob boss doesn’t end up dying, major problems ensue since the priest now knows about his criminal activities. Hitmen and gangsters are hired to take out Father Roy, who turns the tables when his own past helps (and continues to hurt) him at a very dangerous point in his life.

While a studio is not attached to the project yet, there are several movie studios and streaming services that have expressed interest in releasing Ordained.

Robert Venditti wrote the comic book Ordained, which will be released on December 10 with illustrations by Trevor Hairsine, and Dave Stewart as colorist.

The Russo brothers have a long history of creating critically acclaimed comic book adaptations for Marvel Studios, with all of their MCU films earning Rotten Tomatoes scores in the 85% to 94% range. They’re returning to Marvel as directors of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Earlier this year, they adapted the illustrated novel The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, but it was widely panned by critics. Three years ago, the brothers produced Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing at the Oscars.

Farrell also has a history with comic book adaptations, having played Oswald “Oz” Cobb (aka The Penguin) in Matt Reeves’ The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson. His character got his own HBO spinoff, titled The Penguin, which earned the actor a Golden Globe statue and an Emmy nomination. Farrell’s Penguin is returning to the big screen as part of The Batman: Part II‘s cast, with the movie arriving in theaters on October 1, 2027.

Now the Marvel and DC worlds are colliding with the news that the Russo brothers and Farrell are working on a cinematic adaptation of Ordained. Development on the project is still in the early stages, so a release date isn’t known yet.

Based on the description of the comic book, though, it sounds as though fans of the filmmaking duo and The Penguin actor will be in for a wild ride when the action thriller arrives in theaters or on a streaming service someday.