Jupiter’s Legacy Comic Comes to Life in Netflix Series First Look

At first glance, comics would appear to be the easiest print medium to adapt into a visual medium like film or television. But as we all know from decades spent watching comic book adaptations (some great, some good, some…not good) that’s not always the case. 

There are bound to be subtleties of art, lighting, and movement that visual media could misinterpret or outright miss. With its latest comic adaptation, and its first project from Millarworld, Netflix looks to be striving for as close a visual adaptation as possible. Jupiter’s Legacy will be based on the comic book series of the same new from Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely. Based on a new first look from Netflix, Quitely’s art will be a major presence on the live-action series. Check out the video below to see what we mean. 

Sometimes we like to talk about “storyboards come to life” but in this instance that comparison looks to be particularly apt. The teaser presents six never-before-seen sketches from original comic illustrator Quitely and then presents their nearly identical live-action counterparts. 

The images in question include a look at series’ villain Blackstar (the chonky alien-looking fellow). It also introduces Hutch (Ian Quinlan), son of one of the world’s greatest supervillains, and Chloe Sampson (Elena Kampouris), daughter of the world’s greatest superheroes. The cast’s biggest star, Josh Duhamel, pops up as the fourth image playing Sheldon Sampson in 1929. The next image reveals Sheldon’s son Brandon (Andrew Horton). Finally, we get a nice splash page of first generation heroes Lady Liberty/Grace Sampson (Leslie Bibb), The Utopian/Sheldon Sampson (Duhamel) and Brainwave/Walter Sampson (Ben Daniels).

Netflix notes in its announcement that Jupiter’s Legacy comic fans might want to take a closer look at the teaser to uncover some “fun hidden details.” Keep your eye out for some of the items left on the desk in that clip and let us know what you find!

Netflix’s synopsis for this adaptation reads:  

“Jupiter’s Legacy is an epic superhero drama that spans decades and navigates the complex dynamics of family, power, and loyalty. After nearly a century of keeping mankind safe, the world’s first generation of superheroes must look to their children to continue the legacy. But tensions rise as the young superheroes, hungry to prove their worth, struggle to live up to their parents’ legendary public reputations — and exacting personal standards.”

Jupiter’s Legacy will premiere all eight episodes May 7 on Netflix.