The character of Beowulf is slowly becoming an obsession with me. Not the new MoCap movie - although I will freely admit that was the genesis for it - but the original text and the character that is within it is what I find fascinating.

For those of you not familiar, the new film differs greatly from the original text - as does the recently released “Beowulf and Grendel” that was released here on DVD in the states. That film stars Gerald Butler of “300″ fame, and I highly recommend that you check it out - but, as I said, it takes its own spin on the story just as the Paramount film does.

What I find fascinating, and what I can’t seem to get out of my mind, is the fact that this creation - this character - is, for all points and purposes, the very first action hero. This tale was told aloud for entertainment long before the average person could read. This adventure was, in its day, the equivalent of an action movie…and Beowulf was an iconic character. It always leads me to wonder if the tales in the Epic poem are one story - or a trilogy that has been pieced together over the years.

Could the poem we have today actually be Beowulf, Beowulf 2: Beowulf Harder, and Beowulf with a Vengeance?

I think its much more likely that this epic poem was written as entertainment, than it is that it is some kind of gleaming social commentary for the times in which it was created. To me, Beowulf is the first, and greatest pulp hero - and I can’t get the character out of my mind no matter how hard I try.

I have an idea for something to do with Beowulf…something different than has ever been done with the character before, and if I can get the right people involved with it - I just may have to do it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 2:04 am and is filed under Beowulf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.