Rick Remender and Wes Craig’s graphic novel, Deadly Class, has been under development for a while by the Russo Brothers, famed directors of Avengers: Infinity War and the paintball episodes of Community. Now, it’s finally happening, after a series order from Syfy.
The graphic novels, which debuted for Image Comics back in 2014, follow a group of teenagers as they make their way through San Francisco’s late ’80s punk scene and also a high school for assassins. The book focuses on Marcus Lopez, a homeless Nicaraguan teen who gets recruited for the school. His first decision as a student is to kill Ronald Reagan, and that’s somehow the least bad decision he makes in the entire book.
Deadly Class the series is set in a dark, heightened world against the backdrop of late ‘80s counterculture, following the story of Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth). Syfy’s official synopsis describes him as “a teen living on the streets who is recruited into Kings Dominion, an elite private academy where the world’s top crime families send their next generations. Maintaining his moral code while surviving a ruthless curriculum, vicious social cliques and his own adolescent uncertainties soon proves to be vital.”
You can see the new trailer below…
More as we get it.
Deadly Class release date
Deadly Class will get underway in the US on Syfy on 16th January. We’re still waiting on a UK air date!
Deadly Class cast and crew
Syfy revealed the full cast list back in September 2017, after its initial order for the pilot…
Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) is Master Lin, the headmaster of the School for the Deadly Arts. “Deadly and feared. He’s an ever-changing chameleon who keeps his students desperate for his approval.”
Benjamin Wadsworth (Teen Wolf) is Marcus. “At one point we were all Marcus, an awkward outcast full of social anxiety struggling to find his place in the cold and brutal world of high school. Marcus is bottled rage, if his life had been normal this kid might have been an artist, even a poet. Instead he’s had to survive life on the streets of San Francisco. His eyes show it. He’s morally centred in an unethical world.”
Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse) is Saya, “mysterious and guarded with a deadly reputation. Saya was banished from one of the top Yakuza clans in Japan, sent to the School for the Deadly Arts to redeem herself. Driven to be the valedictorian, nothing will stand in her way.”
Maria Gabriela de Faria (Yo Soy Franky) is Maria. “One minute Maria’s an extrovert and an exhibitionist, a tornado of ever changing emotions—fierce, charming, beautiful and oozing femininity — the next she’s murderous, feral, and crippled by rage. At the School for the Deadly Arts her instability is treated like a super power.”
Luke Tennie is Willie, “a hardened gangster, but underneath is an honest and thoughtful person who would rather be reading comic books and listening to music than engaging in blood work. Forced by his mother, leader of an LA gang, into the School for the Deadly Arts, he is under endless pressure to become the thing he hates most.”
Liam James (The Family) is Billy, “skater punk, son of a corrupt cop and now a misfit at the school. He’s off kilter and high energy. Billy combats every situation with sarcasm and humour. Always a glimmer of mischief in his eye.”
Michel Duval (Señora Acero) is Chico, “scary, muscular, son of a cartel drug lord. Everyone knows not to mess with Chico. The only one who can hurt him is his girlfriend.”
Guest stars will include Henry Rollins as Jürgen Denke, Taylor Hickson as Petra, Siobhan Williams as Brandy, Sean Depner as Viktor, Jack Gillett as Lex, and Ryan Robbins as Rory.
The pilot was written by Remender and Miles Feldstott. Adam Targum, lately of Banshee and Outcast, was the showrunner, while Lee Toland Krieger, who directed a number of episodes of Riverdale, helmed.
The show has strong source material to draw from, both narratively and aesthetically. Craig’s art looks like a cross between David Mazzuchelli on Batman: Year One and Frank Miller on Daredevil. Colourist Lee Loughridge gives every scene a distinctive look and mood, and Remender is a master at cutting his schmaltz with cynicism and his cynicism with genuine, heartfelt emotion. If this is half as good as the first trade of Deadly Class, the show should be very good indeed.