Steven de Souza, the screenwriter behind the seminal action franchise "Die Hard," has signed a three-graphic-novel deal with publisher Gungnir. The agreement expands his work across multiple properties and genres, blending established IP with original concepts.
De Souza will continue developing the "Sheena: Queen of the Jungle" series, the classic adventure character he has been adapting for the graphic novel format. Alongside this expansion, he brings two additional projects to Gungnir's slate. One centers on an original ensemble story featuring a ragtag team of astronauts navigating space and survival. The other reimagines Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" as a darker, more contemporary take on the 18th-century satire.
The deal represents de Souza's ongoing pivot toward graphic storytelling. The screenwriter has built his reputation on high-octane narratives for film and television, crafting the blueprint for the modern action blockbuster through "Die Hard" and its sequels. His transition to graphic novels aligns with broader industry trends where established screenwriters and filmmakers increasingly explore sequential art as a storytelling medium with distinct creative possibilities.
Gungnir, the publisher behind this arrangement, has positioned itself as a home for ambitious genre work and adaptations of existing properties. De Souza's multi-project commitment signals the publisher's confidence in his ability to attract readers across action, science fiction, and literary adaptation categories.
The "Gulliver's Travels" reinterpretation carries particular intrigue. Dark reimaginings of public-domain classics have gained traction in recent years, from prestige television adaptations to indie comics. De Souza's version suggests he intends to strip away the travelogue framework and inject contemporary anxieties into Swift's satirical bones.
This announcement underscores how legacy screenwriters now leverage their craft across mediums. De Souza joins peers like Jeph Loeb and other film and television veterans who treat graphic novels not as secondary work but as primary creative outlets. The three-book commitment