McLovin is ‘Kick-Ass’

Matthew Vaughn (Stardust) is moving ahead to direct “Kick-Ass,” an adaptation of a comic by Mark Millar, with key pieces of the cast starting to fall into place.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) is in negotiations, while Chloe Moretz has been cast in the film, whose violent nature has forced Hollywood studios to pass on making it. Vaughn however, is such a believer in the project that he raised the money for the $30 million indie project himself.

“Kick-Ass,” written by Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr., follows a high school dweeb who attempts to reinvent himself as a real-world costumed superhero named Kick-Ass who seems doomed to failure because he’s not athletic or coordinated until he runs into real bad guys with real weapons.

The comic is ultraviolent, with kids taking on adults of all stripes. Moretz’s character, for example, is a ferocious, potty-mouthed 11-year-old who chops down crime thugs with a ninja sword. Mintz-Plasse will play the Red Mist, the angry teen son of a mobster who tries to find uncover Kick-Ass’ identity.

The main character, dweeb Dave Lizewski, has not yet been cast. Vaughn also is talking to several high-profile stars to play parents or mobsters.

Vaughn first brought the project to Sony, which distributed his “Layer Cake,” but the studio balked at the violence, which he refused to tone down. Several other studios expressed interest but demanded that the protagonists’ ages be upped. Vaughn is now is doing it alone.

Should this kid still be getting acting jobs?