In a world of remakes and sequels, Johnny Depp and Ridley Scott have joined forces with Jesse Negron’s Mechanical Cake to build a new, original entertainment property from the ground up, HYDE, with all three having co-ownership, the trio jointly announced today.
Created by Jesse Negron, HYDE picks up Mr. Hyde’s story, from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and imagines a world where Mr. Hyde has defeated Jekyll. Now unencumbered by interruptions from his alter ego, Hyde can finally freely explore his dark tendencies with uninhibited abandon. The 2-volume graphic novel series finds Mr. Hyde in his new domain, the sewers beneath London, where he experiments on others, using the corrupting serum to create even more “Hydes.” Each volume in the series will contain two chapters with over two hundred pages. Johnny Depp will have input on all aspects of the property and create the character of Hyde.
“To build within the world of Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterful characters and to be welcomed into the vision of Ridley Scott… and inexplicably having the opportunity to explore.” Depp ponders. “It’s surprising to me. And hopefully surprising to him. It’s insane and beautiful to receive that trust from Ridley. A master.”
When Ridley Scott, with his instinct for world building, first saw the poster mockup and the concept pitch, understood the potential of Hyde, he said: “It’s a no-brainer!”
“This is an incredible opportunity to build a studio-level project that goes directly from the creators to the audience, with no filters in between,” said HYDE creator Negron.
The series is written by Jesse Negron and Joe Matsumoto, edited by comic book veteran Dave Elliott, and drawn by legendary artists Gary Erskine and Chris Weston. Scott Free Senior VP Tom Moran, COO Infinitum Nihil Jason Forman, and Mechanical Cake CFO Tom Sanders will oversee the partnership.
“HYDE, like everything Mechanical Cake does, is a bit off the rails, in a good way. We execute at a whole other level. We cannot wait to unleash HYDE into the world at San Diego Comic-Con this year! We invite everyone to come by our booth, which takes you into the worlds of our graphic novel series, MODVILLE and HYDE,” said Negron.
At San Diego Comic-Con, an exclusive collectible large format HYDE ashcan (graphic novel preview), will be given to all attendees at the panel this week, HYDE: When the Worlds of Graphic Novels and Movies Collide, in Hall H on Thursday, 1:30-2:30pm. The HYDE ashcan will also be available as a free download on the Mechanical Cake website, and all SDCC attendees can drop by the HYDE booth for other collectible HYDE swag.
The graphic novel HYDE chapter 1 of 4, which will ship on Halloween this year, is currently available for pre-order at mechanicalcake.com, and will also be available for pre-order at the HYDE booth at San Diego Comic-Con.
