Conjuring Director Michael Chaves Pivots To Dark Fantasy With 2026's Must-Read Comic [Exclusive]
by Devin Meenan · /FilmHorror filmmaker Michael Chaves ("Conjuring: Last Rites") has embarked on his first-ever comic: dark fantasy miniseries "Corpse Knight," published by Skybound Entertainment. Skybound supplied /Film with a preview of "Corpse Knight" #1 and, in correspondence over email, Chaves told us about writing this gothic horror adventure.
Set in 15th century France, "Corpse Knight" follows a little girl named Foy after her father is murdered by bandits dressed like knights. One night, these bandits return to rob and rape Foy. Inspired by a story her papa once told her about Joan of Arc praying a little boy back to life, she prays for her father to return ... and he does, as a silent zombie, slaughtering the men attacking his daughter. Foy sets out with her father, now dressed in the armor once worn by his murderer, to find Joan of Arc in hopes that God can set her papa right.
"The way the film business is right now, no one's making epic fantasy period pieces unless it's established IP. And no one's greenlighting a movie with a kid and a walking corpse in the lead," said Chaves, explaining why for "Corpse Knight" he turned to comics. "I think we all have these projects that never see the light of day and I just didn't want that to happen with this story."
Chaves praised the book's artist Matthew Roberts and editor Alex Antone for bringing the comic to life, even as he took to the challenge of a new storytelling medium: "In film, you have so many tools at your disposal. In comics, every single panel has to carry that weight on its own. You're asking the reader to feel motion and time without actually showing it."
How Corpse Knight came to be
While Michael Chaves was directing 2023 "Conjuring" spin-off "The Nun II," he considered featuring Joan of Arc in the film and researched her saintly history. While the movie instead featured the martyred Saint Lucy (Taissa Farmiga), Chaves' newfound interest in Joan of Arc led to the development of "Corpse Knight."
The core of "Corpse Knight," or the story of St. Joan resurrecting a three-days-dead baby to be baptized, is a real miracle in church record that Joan of Arc supposedly peformed. However, Chaves ultimately realized Joan of Arc wasn't the right star of this story.
"The breakthrough was actually in shifting the focus away from Joan of Arc and into the characters. Once I found Foy and her father, suddenly it became emotional and more relatable. Making Joan of Arc into basically the 'Wizard of Oz' at the end of Foy's journey became the key in unlocking this."
Reading "Corpse Knight" #1, I definitely want to see where Foy and her corpse knight's yellow brick road takes them.
Chaves' other cited influences on "Corpse Knight" ranged from "Frankenstein" ("I think every reanimated corpse owes a debt to that story," Chaves told us) to author Ken Follett's historical fiction. Comic book creators he looks to include Mike Mignola, creator of the "Hellboy" universe, and Gerard Way, the My Chemical Romance frontman turned "Umbrella Academy" creator. (Way's twisted Batman comic pitch remains one of the great unmade superhero stories.)
"[Mignola and Way's stories] always felt so wonderfully 'only in a comic' even as they've been made into movies and TV shows," Chaves said. If "Corpse Knight" succeeds as a comic, perhaps it'll be established enough IP for Chaves to make a movie of it after all.
"Corpse Knight" #1 releases on Wednesday, April 22.