Disney for the last 5 years or so has been doing everything it can to get it’s hands on the elusive young male demographic. You know those guys that go see explosion the movie, or play Call of Duty: Future War (that’s a good idea for a game and I want full credit). They made Prince of Persia and Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and those were both terrible bombs. Then they went and bought Marvel, and rebranded Toon Disney to be more of a young males network, somehow turned Tron: Legacy into a 400 million worldwide earner, and made Avengers the most awesome popcorn film maybe ever made. Despite the bombing of John Carter, they are now playing with house money and can take some chances.
The graphic novel The Stuff of Legend, I have not read, but it sounds like the perfect project for Disney to adapt into film. It centers on a young boy, who in the 1940’s gets dragged into “scary Narnia” by The Boogeyman. His dog and his toys then go into that realm called “The Dark” to rescue him. When they enter that realm however, they transform into larger more threatening, weaponized versions of themselves. Like I said I have not read the book, but I will probably pick it up this week, cause this sounds like the kind of dark stuff that Hollywood has shied away from over the years. In the right hands this can be something special. In the wrong hands however this can be a nightmare.