The exploits of a "cibopathic" cop in a world of outlawed chicken will be getting its own animated feature.
It seems Steven Yeun can't stay away from Image Comics properties. Known for playing Glenn on the Walking Dead, Yeun is set to star as Tony Chu, the almost-kind-of-sort-of title character from the comic series Chewin an animated feature adaptation. Also announced is Felicia Day as Amelia Mintz, Chu's food critic love interest.
Chew tells the story of a by-the-book cop with a unique ability. Whatever he ingests, he gains the memories of. If he eats a hamburger, he remembers being a cow at the slaughterhouse. If he eats an apple, he remembers being picked and doused with pesticides. If he eats a murderer's face, he remembers the identities of the victims. It's a helpful curse and the only thing immune to it is beets, which is the only thing Chu regularly eats for that very reason.
As if the rules of his world weren't strange enough, the Food and Drug Administration is one of the top-ranking agencies in the country and is focused on enforcing "chicken prohibition" in the aftermath of the bird flu epidemic. Once Chu's abilities are discovered, he's put to task by having to devour countless gross pieces of evidence – such as old, dismembered fingers – just to crack the case. Also, his partner is a cyborg.
Felicia Day's Amelia is a food critic with her own special power. Whenever she talks or writes about food, those who listen or read are able to actually taste the food in question. That's all well and good unless she's giving you a horrible review and you find yourself puking all over the place. Chu is infatuated with her even before realizing that experiencing her reviews is the closest thing he can do to eat and not go all Dead Zone.
The comic series is written by John Layman and drawn by Rob Guillory. Originally, Chewwas going to be adapted into a half-hour comedy series on Showtime. That deal fell through, leading to this announcement. Layman will be handling the script duties, meaning the film is in as good a hands as you can get. Jeff Krelitz will be directing.
The reveal that Chewwill be animated is something of a surprise to me, but probably for the better in terms of making certain scenes easier to stomach.
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