By Kofi Outlaw

Hot off the success of films SIN CITY and 300, comic book auteur Frank Miller will next write and direct a big-screen adaptation of legendary comic strip THE SPIRIT. Starring in said film will be Eva Mendes (HITCH), who recently gabbed to MTV about being part of the Frank Miller vision:

“I’m excited to working with Frank Miller, he’s a genius,” Eva Mendes told [MTV news] recently, nearly jumping out of her chair. “Actually, I didn’t even read a script.”

The film will mark Miller’s first time at the helm (excluding a co-director credit for SIN CITY,) as well as the first time the subject matter won’t be Miller’s own material. Writer-artist Will Eisner first created THE SPIRIT in 1940, as part of a Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert. The story details the crime-fighting exploits of detective Denny Colt, a man thought to have died, who becomes a masked vigilante donned in a blue business suit, fedora and gloves. The Spirit’s adventures were full of intrigue and mystery, as the hero thwarted evil in every corner of the globe. The tone of the strip differed over the years, but it will most likely be its brand of film-noir-style crime drama that Miller will try to bring to the screen. Mendes offered a few hints:

“I play Sand Saref,” she explained. “It’s my first femme fatale character. She’s literally a killer, and she uses her body to get what she wants. I’m excited!”

Co-starring in the film, according to Mendes, will be actor Samuel L. Jackson and another hot young actress sure to help steam up the screen:

“When I first met with [Frank], it was actually me and Scarlett Johansson—we got there at a similar time.” [Mendes said] “We actually sat down and we met with Frank together…”

THE SPIRIT comic strip ran until 1952, published in the comics sections of many major newspapers. It established Will Eisner as one the most significant figures in the medium’s history, a sentiment echoed to this day by the ‘The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award’ for creative achievement in American comic books, which is presented every year at the Comic-Con International festival held in San Diego.

Filming on THE SPIRIT is set to begin later this year. A release date for the film has not yet been established.