J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot will finally be doing something about a robot. Paramount has reportedly secured the rights to the graphic novel Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, and Deborah Newmyer of Outlaw Productions brought the project to Bad Robot and will act as a producer alongside Abrams.

“Boilerplate”, a graphic novel-picture book hybrid by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett purports to tell the story of the world’s first robot, who, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fought alongside Teddy Roosevelt and Lawrence of Arabia, journeyed to the South Pole and was involved in the silent movie business before disappearing on the battlefields of World War I.

The book tells Boilerplate’s story by inserting the character into pictures drawn in the style of the age (see below).

Guinan originally pitched the concept and character via a website 11 years ago when trying to drum up interest in a graphic novel. The site eventually took on a life of its own when some people started believing the robot and its history to be true.

[Source] THR