Comic Book Casting: THE DARKNESS Television Series

What happens when a made man gets a touch of a even darker kind of evil?

That’s one way to encompass the plot of the long-running Image/Top Cow series The Darkness. This darkly supernatural-meets-mafioso story has grown to become a co-flagship title at Top Cow with Witchblade. And while it’s sometimes difficult to stand out with such an alluring character as Witchblade sharing the shelf with you, the Darkness has been at the center of some uncompromising and uniquely sinister stories in the 16 years it’s been in publication. With the growth in diversity and special effects available in television series now, I believe The Darkness could be a great television series — possibly even greater than the comic.

And here’s how I’d do it.

The Concept:

Magic, supernatural and the otherworldly are hard to get off your mind, but for a Darkness television series, I’d base it more on the reality of Jackie Estacado’s roots in the mafia with only tinges and big moments bringing in the full might of the Darkness. Much like The Walking Dead, I’d make it a drama first, with the supernatural elements adding the spice and motivation to make it unique. Essentially, I’d re-frame the story to be about an up-and-coming made man inside a fearsome NYC mob family. All the while he’s tried to draw a line between his personal life and his business, but that’s thrown asunder when he inherits the powers (and the responsibilities) of the Darkness and finds the mafia family isn’t the only thing he should be worried about. It’s like the classic Mean Streets movie, but in this case Jackie is both Charlie and Johnny Boy… and there are demons to deal with.

The Showrunner:

To take on this unique project and blend the supernatural with the mafioso and create something new, I’d get showrunner Greer Shephard. I didn’t quite recognize her great work until the recent series Longmire, but looking back she has a great track record from working on both Nip/Tuck and the quirky police procedural The Closer. I’d be interested to see what she could bring to this concept to make it stand out from the pack.

The Cast:

Jackie Estacado – Steven Strait: A couple years back, Steven Strait was pegged to be a movie star with roles in Sky High, The Covenant and 10,000 B.C. The resounding thud of the latter might have cut those aspirations short, but as Strait works in television I still see a goldmine of leading man potential that could be well used as the bad boy Jackie Estacado in The Darkness. He’s Half-Italian, he has the looks, and he has the acting chops to really stand out.

Frankie Franchetti – Tony Sirico: Showing how good a person can be typecast, this former real-life mafioso made his name in The Sopranos and seemingly relishes the part even off-screen. I’d take advantage of Sirico’s presence and make him one of the selling points of The Darkness as Jackie’s adopted father. He can play bad, but he can also be a good guy when doing it.

The Angelus – Yvonne Strahovski: She excelled at playing the straight man type in the action/comedy Chuck, but I’d like to see Yvonne rear back and show her claws a bit as The Darkness’ heaven-sent Angelus. This would be more a guest starring role than a regular piece, but I’d love to see her come in and give Jackie a run for his money.

Jenny Romano – Erika Christensen: After bouncing around in a number of television shows like 6 Degrees and movies like Swimfan, Christensen has settled in as part of NBC’s Parenthood but I believe she could be something more. After being a flashback character in early The Darkness issues, David Hine and Jeremy Haun have really fleshed her out in recent issues of the series and the character and actress would be an ideal counterpoint to Jackie’s more darker associates.

Darklings – Mike Patton: One of the best things about the pair of The Darkness video games that came out was Faith No More’s Mike Patton voicing the Darkness. And while I don’t think he’s up enough to carry the titular role in a television series, I’d love to see Mike step into the recording booth and voice Jackie’s darklings and really give the show a twisted, growly upgrade.