Some could argue that Moses, the central character in Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings is a comic book character, since there have been plenty of comic books depicting this biblical tale. And Blade Runner received a quite good comic book adaptation upon its release in 1982 from Marvel. But never in his career has Ridley Scott set out to directly adapt an existing comic book or superhero for the big screen. And its not likely to happen either.

Speaking with IGN, the acclaimed director explained why he has never taken on a comic book adaption. His reasons are simple: It's hard. Here's what he had to say:

"I've had a lot of opportunities and I tend not to do that. They're the hardest single thing to write. Taking a comic strip character is very hard to write. Because comics are meant to work in one page, to work in frames with minimalistic dialogue. And a lot of it is left to the imagination of the reader. To do that in film you've got to be a little more explanatory. And that requires a good screenplay and good dialogue."

While Ridley Scott doesn't want to make a comic book movie, that doesn't mean it will never happen. Though, it's not likely to be anytime soon. The director will next adapt the novel The Martian starring Matt Damon, which in its own right could make for an appealing graphic novel. He will follow that up with Prometheus 2. As many know, the Alien franchise has been handled in comic book form quite well over the years. And then there is the Untitled Blade Runner Project, which the director has not yet decided if he will direct or not, though he will remain on as a producer. Looking at Ridley Scott's body of work, he's basically done the reverse of adapting a comic, with his work being adapted into comics. It seems like the tradeoff has worked in his favor.

B. Alan Orange at Movieweb
B. Alan Orange