‘Assassin & Son’: State Street Pictures Developing Film Based On Comic Book By Shad Gaspard, Marc Copani

EXCLUSIVE: State Street Pictures has optioned the comic book Assassin & Son, created and written by the late Shad Gaspard and Marc Copani, for development as a film.

The comic illustrated by Eder Messiah centers on Donovan Braddock, a one-man killing unit who works with a team of covert assassins known as “The Horsemen.” When Braddock finds love, and makes a family of his own, he attempts to leave that life of violence behind. But he discovers that his old life still torments him when his wife is murdered in front of him and his young son. Now, with nothing to live for, this tragic event sends father and son on an epic journey of revenge and consequence. Scout Comics & Entertainment, which published the comic, will produce the feature adaptation alongside State Street.

Gaspard and Copani are former professional WWE wrestlers who teamed up to write Assassin & Son after retiring from the sport. Gaspard tragically passed away in May of 2020, shortly before publication of the first issue, when he and his young son were caught in a riptide in Venice Beach. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year.

“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to bring Shad and Marc’s comic to life,” said State Street Creative Executive, Lawrence Mott. “What excites us creatively is the balance of hard-hitting action and emotional themes presented in the source material.”

“We met Shad at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. He was known for his brawn in the world of wrestling, but what we were taken by was his humor, intelligence and creative genius,” added Don Handfield of Scout Comics. “We were blown away by his and Marc’s comic, and we’re proud to bring it to the world. We are happy that his legacy has a chance to live on through this partnership with State Street.”

The Hate U Give filmmaker George Tillman Jr. and Robert Teitel founded State Street Pictures in 1990. The company most recently wrapped production on an adaptation of On the Come Up—Angie Thomas’ bestselling follow up to The Hate U Give. Past projects include the hit Barbershop franchise for MGM, as well as the film Soul Food; Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson; and Men of Honor, starring Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro and Charlize Theron.

Scout Comics & Entertainment was founded in 2015 and has over 200 titles in its catalogue. The company’s properties have previously sold to such companies as Disney, Amazon Studios and FilmNation, among others.