WASHINGTON — Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in “Oblivion Song,” which will be an adaptation of a graphic novel by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici.

New Republic Pictures announced on Aug. 24, 2021, that it optioned the rights to the story, with plans to turn it into a feature film, as per reports.

Gyllenhaal’s production company Nine Stories will produce the film with Riva Marker and Kirkman via his shingle Skybound Entertainment. At Skybound Entertainment, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst will also serve as producers.

Kirkman is best known for co-creating “The Walking Dead” and “Invincible,” in addition to writing Marvel Comics such as “Ultimate X-Men” and “Irredeemable Ant-Man.”

Released by Image Comics in 2018, “Oblivion Song” chronicles Nathan Cole, a man who makes daily trips to try and rescue those still living in Oblivion, an apocalyptic hellscape in Philadelphia that was lost a decade prior, along with 300,000 of its citizens.

“We couldn’t be more excited to find such great partners in New Republic and Nine Stories,” Kirkman said in a statement.

“Both companies have a tremendous reputation for premium storytelling at the highest level, and we can’t wait to see Jake bring this character to life on the big screen. We are so fortunate to have assembled a team that is as passionate about this comic as we are.”

Marker, whose producing credits include Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation,” comedic drama “The Kids Are All Right,” and Paul Dano’s “Wildlife,” called “Oblivion Song,” a “mind-blowingly captivating series.”

“When faced with a cataclysmic event that permanently alters our lives, what would we choose to save? Just as Kirkman did with ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Invincible,’ in ‘Oblivion Song,’ he’s created the potential for a franchise that is profoundly entertaining and the perfect opportunity to explore big questions we’re reckoning with globally,” she said in a statement.

Veteran producers Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer, who run New Republic Pictures, also expressed their excitement for the upcoming film.

“We are thrilled to partner with Nine Stories and Skybound to help bring Robert and Lorenzo’s visionary comic to life. ‘Oblivion Song’ is a rare combination of spectacle, originality, and masterful, multivolume storytelling, which is basically everything we love in the world.”

“Oblivion Song” is the first project announced under the first-look deal with the New Republic and Nine Stories. New Republic has since announced first-look deals with Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton’s Dirty Films, Francis Lawrence’s About: Blank Production Company, and Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment.

Gyllenhaal will next star in Michael Bay’s action thriller “Ambulance” for Universal and Antoine Fuqua’s “The Guilty” for Netflix, as per reports.

(With inputs from ANI)

Edited by Ojaswin Kathuria and Nikita Nikhil