Kevin Sorbo as assassin

Sorbo to star in new franchise ‘The Illuminati’

By W. H. Bourne

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/11/08 – “I love this stuff,” says ‘The Illuminati: Out of Chaos Comes Order’ star Kevin Sorbo. “I’ve been doing action, fantasy, and sci-fi stuff all my life, but ‘Illuminati’ also has some great drama. People usually associate me as the good guy, but in this I get to be an anti-hero.”

Sorbo is best known for his work in ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ and ‘Andromeda’. As the 29th annual American Film Market winds down in Santa Monica, buyers and sellers offer mixed reviews of the market in the wake of the recent global economic down turn. Of course, if you have a hot product there’s no shortage of buyers.

Sorbo teams up with ‘Andromeda’ director David Winning. ‘Illuminati’ is being produced by Elizabeth Fowler of Clear Pictures Entertainment. “Liz brought me the project,” says Winning, “and the first person I thought of was Kevin”. Also cast for ‘Illuminati’ are Lance Henriksen and C. Thomas Howell.

Andromeda director David Winning

“The Illuminati really existed,” explains Fowler. “They were a secret society in Bavaria that was forced underground. There are those that believe they still secretly control world events.”

Conspiracy theories abound about the Illuminati. Former ‘Playboy’ editors Robert Anton Wilson and Bob Shea created the ‘Illuminatus! Trilogy’ based on the odd conspiracy letters sent to them while working at ‘Playboy’. Steven Jackson created both a role playing game and a trading card game based on ‘Illuminatus!’ and Eye N Apple Comics/Rip Off Press did a comic book adaptation of the material. But these projects shouldn’t be confused with Sorbo’s new project, ‘The Illuminati: Out of Chaos Comes Order’.

“Writer Mark Sevi has created a whole world and a new mythology,” says Fowler. “Instead of the distant future, it’s set in the present using current technology such as dragon skin armor and metal storm guns. ‘Illuminti’ is set in a world grounded in reality but uses artistic license.”

“The Council of 13 secretly controls the major segments of the world. And while this secret group of Illuminati are controlling the world, a secret faction inside the Illuminati are trying to influence them,” explains Sevi. Press materials pitch ‘Illuminati: Out of Chaos Comes Order’ as “A top assassin defects from the The Illuminati…and is now a free agent killing machine.”

“Tap into your dark side,” jokes Winning to Sorbo although Kevin doesn’t really need encouragement. “He’s a trained killer,” says Sorbo as he talks with excitement about his new role, “But I want to add more sarcasm to my character”.

Comic Con fans will be the first to get a good glimpse of ‘The Illuminati: Out of Chaos Comes Order’ when it releases as a comic book in San Diego in July of next year. “I’ve been trying to go to Comic Con for the past 15 years,” says Sorbo. “It’s great for me because every year they invite me and every year I get work that keeps me from going. But I’ll be there this coming year.”

“The movie was written as a franchise,” explains Fowler. “We’re hoping to release the film at the end of ‘09 or early 2010.” Tie-ins will also include toys and video games. “We’re also hoping to develop this into a TV series,” says Fowler.

‘The Illuminati’ is spreading it’s network of influence throughout the market at AFM. “We just introduced the project and we’ve had a phenomenal response. We’ve already sold territories,” says Fowler.