The Russo Brothers producing a comic book movie about a compromised priest feels like penance. For what? For making us care about infinity stones? For The Electric State? Or maybe—just maybe—this is what growing up looks like when you’ve directed the highest-grossing film ever and still need to prove you have a soul.
Ordained isn’t just another comic book adaptation. It’s a collision between two very different kinds of Hollywood gravity. On one side: Joe and Anthony Russo, the architects of Marvel’s Infinity Saga, now producing through their AGBO banner after their directorial detour into Netflix’s most expensive shrug. On the other: Colin Farrell, fresh from his Golden Globe win for The Penguin, playing a priest named Father Roy Craig who learns dangerous secrets during last rites. The mob boss doesn’t die. The priest doesn’t forget. And suddenly we’re in a Derek Kolstad script—because of course we are.
Kolstad, the madman who turned a dog’s death into a global assassination economy, is writing this thing. That tells you everything. This won’t be a quiet meditation on faith. This will be a crucifix in one hand, a Glock in the other, and probably a dead horse somewhere in act two.
The Russo Redemption Tour
Let’s be honest: the Russos need this. After Everything Everywhere All at Once—the film they produced that won seven Oscars and reminded everyone what ambition looks like—they directed The Electric State. Which, according to critics, was about as electric as a dead car battery. The adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s illustrated novel had $320 million and two A-list stars, yet somehow felt smaller than a concept art book.
Now they’re producing Ordained, based on Robert Venditti’s comic (out December 10, with art by Trevor Hairsine and colors by Dave Stewart). No studio attached yet, but everyone’s circling. That’s telling. The Russos aren’t directing—they’re shepherding. They’re using their Marvel-earned clout to get a weird, violent priest story made. It’s the same move they pulled with the Daniels, except this time the auteur is… Colin Farrell?
But Farrell isn’t just starring. He’s producing alongside his sister Claudine Farrell. This is personal. After playing a deformed crime lord in Matt Reeves’ The Batman and its HBO spinoff, Farrell could have cashed Marvel checks for a decade. Instead, he’s choosing a comic about a priest whose past “helps and continues to hurt him.” That’s not a role—that’s a therapy session with fight choreography.
The Farrell Method
I’ve watched Farrell’s career arc with the fascination of someone studying a controlled explosion. He started as a pretty boy who couldn’t quite land, then became the guy who disappeared into prosthetics and won awards for it. His Penguin wasn’t a performance; it was a possession. Now he’s playing a priest who probably isn’t one.
Father Roy Craig sounds like a Kolstad protagonist: a man with a code and a body count. The last rites setup is genius—moral authority meets mortal sin, and the priest can’t unhear what he’s heard. The mob boss lives. The secret doesn’t die. And Farrell’s priest has to “turn the tables” using his own past. Which means flashbacks. Which means Young Father Roy was probably not a choir boy.
This is Farrell’s post-Penguin power move. He’s not running from typecasting—he’s weaponizing it. After playing a grotesque crime boss, he plays the man who confesses them. The symmetry is almost too neat.
What This Signals
The Russos producing Ordained suggests AGBO’s pivot back to what worked: finding singular voices and getting out of their way. They didn’t direct Everything Everywhere—they enabled it. Now they’re enabling Farrell and Kolstad to make the kind of mid-budget, high-concept thriller that died in the streaming wars but might be resurrecting in theaters.
Venditti’s comic drops December 10. The film has no release date, no studio, just heat. That’s the sweet spot. The Russos learned their lesson: you can’t buy passion, but you can produce it. Farrell learned his: after The Batman Part II (October 1, 2027), he’ll need something that isn’t a franchise. This is that.
And Kolstad? He’s just happy to write another priest who probably kills people. The man has a type.
The Festival Circuit Question
Here’s where I get cynical. Ordained feels like a TIFF premiere. Not Cannes—too grimy. Not Sundance—too commercial. Toronto loves its morally compromised antiheroes, its star vehicles disguised as art. Picture it: Farrell, unrecognizable in a dog collar, doing press about “the complexity of faith.” The Russos, standing behind him, talking about “returning to character-driven stories.” Everyone ignoring the elephant in the room: this is a comic book movie about a priest who shoots people.
But that’s the point. The best comic adaptations hide their pulp in plain sight. The Winter Soldier was a ’70s conspiracy thriller. The Penguin was a Scorsese character study. Ordained will be a John Wick movie where the Continental is a confessional booth.
The Studio Hunger Games
No studio attached yet, but “several have expressed interest.” Translation: Netflix wants it for their “prestige action” slate, but Farrell probably wants theatrical. A24 is dreaming about it, but can’t afford Farrell’s quote. Universal might bite—Kolstad’s John Wick pedigree plays there. And the Russos? They’re shopping AGBO’s next identity.
The irony: the guys who defined franchise cinema are now the indie producers. The guy who won awards for playing a monster is playing a man of God. And the writer who made Keanu Reeves an assassin is writing about a priest. Hollywood’s ouroboros is eating itself, and it’s delicious.
Why Ordained Actually Matters
The Russos Are Done Directing Their Own Homework
After The Electric State bombed, they’re producing someone else’s vision. Smart. Necessary. Possibly their best move since Endgame.
Farrell’s Playing the Long Game
Post-Penguin, he could’ve franchised himself into oblivion. Instead, he’s choosing a comic about moral decay. That’s not a career move—that’s a dare.
Kolstad’s Priest Is Just John Wick in a Collar
And that’s perfect. The man writes men with codes. A priest who hears confessions and breaks kneecaps? That’s his sweet spot.
AGBO’s Identity Crisis Is Showing
They produced a Best Picture winner, then a $320 million misfire. Ordained is their reset button. Let’s hope it works.
Comic Books Are the New Spec Scripts
Venditti’s comic isn’t even out yet, and it’s already a movie. The industry isn’t adapting IPs anymore—it’s betting on them before they exist.
FAQ
Is Ordained just John Wick with a crucifix?
Basically. But that’s not an insult—it’s a feature. Kolstad’s genius is taking absurd premises deathly serious. A priest with a past is just a hitman who believes in something. Whether that’s God or revenge is the whole movie.
Can the Russo Brothers redeem themselves after The Electric State?
They don’t need redemption—they need perspective. Producing Ordained shows they remember what good stories smell like. Whether they can stay in their lane is another question. History says they’ll meddle.
Why hasn’t a studio attached yet?
Because this is a weird movie. A-list actor, A-list producers, comic book IP that isn’t published yet. Studios love heat, but they hate risk. Someone will bite when the comic drops December 10 and proves it has teeth.
Will this actually get made?
Probably. Farrell’s producing, the Russos are attached, Kolstad’s writing. That’s a package. But in this economy? Weird scripts die in development every day. Pray for it.
Ordained is currently in development with no release date. The source comic by Robert Venditti, Trevor Hairsine, and Dave Stewart publishes December 10, 2024. Colin Farrell returns as Oswald “Oz” Cobb in The Batman Part II on October 1, 2027.
