We might not be getting a Gambit movie anytime soon, but at least we’ve got another card-wielding superhuman on the way: DC Comics’ Madame Xanadu. True Blood writer and executive producer Angela Robinson is heading to HBO Max with a new TV series based on the immortal clairvoyant, with J.J. Abrams serving as producer.
As reported in Deadline, Abrams and Robinson are teaming up to develop a series called Madame X, based on Madame Xanadu (aka Nimue). The DC character inspired by the Arthurian legend was designed by Michael William Kaluta back in 1978 with her initial story worked on by David Michelinie. This is the latest TV project in Abrams’ ongoing deal with Warner Bros. TV, which includes a string of DC projects including Justice League Dark (which very well could feature Madame Xanadu) and a new Superman film from Ta-Nehisi Coates that will feature a Black Superman. Robinson is not exactly a stranger to comic stories either; she previously wrote and directed the loosely-based-on-true-events Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and also wrote The Web for DC.
Over the years, Madame Xanadu has gone through several incarnations (just like most comic characters) but originally she was stripped of her powers—levitation, teleportation, and the ability to see the future through tarot cards—by Merlin, and went on to have a child that was an ancestor of none other than John Constantine. Along the way she had many adventures with other DC magic characters, made a deal with Neron for her soul, and was blind for a time because she was acting as the powerful Spectre’s advisor. She’s previously made one live-action appearance in the short-lived Swamp Thing (played by Jeryl Prescott) on DC Universe (now HBO Max).
You may recall there’s also a new take on Constantine coming from Abrams, so the opportunity for crossovers is ripe. That character has been played by Matt Ryan the last few years on Legends of Tomorrow prior to his own series on NBC. Would you like to see Ryan continue that trend and who could you see playing Madame Xanadu?
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