UPDATE: I published too soon! Just as my story hit the web, Collider broke the news that Margot Robbie is indeed starring in Tank Girl and has tapped Dreamland director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte to helm the project. I haven’t seen any of Joris-Peyrafitte’s work but it’s been mostly well regarded and he’s worked with Robbie before so they must have a strong working relationship.
I guess Alan Martin was right! The original story follows as published.
Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin’s Tank Girl comics from the 1990s are pure pop art magic. The anarchistic style of story-telling and art created something really special and truly unique. There was nothing like Tank Girl and the idea of converting those comics into a movie is a very challenging task indeed.
Maybe that’s why the Tank Girl movie from 1995 was no good. I know some people hold it in high regard but I think it was just a poor imitation of the true Tank Girl style and vibe. Lori Petty did good work in it, the movie itself was just really lackluster and didn’t understand what it was adapting. I’ve always wished for a faithful adaptation of the comics.
Maybe we will get one. According to none other than Martin himself, Margot Robbie’s production company is hard at work on a new Tank Girl movie. This is the first we’ve heard of this news but, if true, it’s super exciting.
Here’s Martin’s tweet:
Obviously Margot Robbie and Tank Girl seem like a great fit. She definitely resembles the titular character and could easily bring the right sort of energy needed for that part (in fact, her Harley Quinn is undeniably influenced by Tank Girl). However, there’s no mention in Martin’s tweet about who would play the lead. But it’s safe to assume that Robbie would probably be the one taking the role, it would just be stupid to NOT cast her.
Robbie would be wonderful but a Tank Girl movie would need a director who understand the material and delivers the same sort of style and attitude that made the comics so fun. A proper adaptation would be chaotic, messy, obnoxious and loud. It would have to be punk rock. It couldn’t be a tidy, by-the-numbers movie like the last one.
It’s possible that Martin has gotten bad intel on this project and that we aren’t getting a new Tank Girl film but it’s likely that his news has some kernel of truth in it somewhere. I guess we will know more soon.
Hat tip to Bloody Disgusting for the scoop.