Los Angeles-based Imagos Films has partnered with three-time Eisner-nominated comics creator Kyle Starks for the development of a picture set in the hilarious gimmick-filled pro-wrestling world of Starks’ beloved book, “The Legend of Ricky Thunder.” To be titled “Absolute Thunder,” this ambitious live-action adaptation will feature actor/comedian Nic Nemeth, the kayfabled face behind the iconic WWE Superstar and two-time World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler, in the starring role of Ricky Thunder, a legendary wrestler forced to face the crushing reality that his run at the top was all scripted. And those aliens are real. And they want to take over
Three Kyle Starks IPs have been optioned. One to Paramount, one to the Russo Brothers, and the other to Imagos.
“I’m so excited to see my first book, Legend of Ricky Thunder, a book near and dear to my heart brought to life by the great team at Imagos. What a thrill! You folks are gonna love this!” – Kyle Starks
“Kyle Stark’s comic book was presented to me out of the blue and wow was it beautiful, fun, awesome, and wholesome, so I could not in good conscience, say no! Second of all, I AM Ricky…we all are haha!” – Nic Nemeth
“Absolute Thunder is 80s action comedy meets 90s anime meets weirdly unscrupulous aliens meets your face with a gigaton explosion of heart. With Kyle’s book as our North Star, and Nic as our Ricky, we’re geared up to tell a wholesome story about friendship, confidence, self-esteem, and wrestling. So. Much. Wrestling.” – Don Thacker
Founded by director Don Thacker, producer Aili Acone-Chavez, and actor Adrian DiGiovanni, Imagos Films is known for its over-the-top visual presentation, left-of-center comedic style, and a furiously economic production capability that has allowed the trio to produce two feature films and nearly one hundred narrative commercial projects, with dozens of partners including Sony, Amazon, Microsoft and Nintendo since coming together.
Imagos’s vision is an action/comedy detonation that captures large characters living huge in the fever-dream aesthetic of a 1980s pro-wrestling boom faced to reassess themselves during a hard turn toward the 1990s emo-roughneck attitude era. With an unrelenting commitment to narrative fidelity, visual spectacle, high production value, and commercial viability, Imagos aims to create powerful cinema, tell incredible stories, and make movies that tear your face off.
Imagos Films founder Thacker is a Detroit native, and Los Angeles-based writer/director. His first feature, Motivational Growth, took 28 festival awards including numerous wins for best director and best screenplay, and holds the distinction of being the first narrative feature film to be released on Valve’s Steam digital distribution platform.
Since 2011 Thacker has successfully blended the live-action and video game entertainment spaces with the production of over 100 works of commercial, promotional, and in-game media for clients such as Sony, Turner/Adult Swim, Nintendo, Microsoft and Amazon and is the writer/director of record for Devolver digital; with whom he created Devolver’s annual “Big Fancy Press Conference” episodic series, showcasing the Devolver Digital Cinematic Universe.
Thacker is also the director of the Facebook Watch series “Rival Speak,” a frequent Unreal Engine cinematic director for Genvid Entertainment, and is currently working on an unannounced collaboration with DC Comics.
