Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, Oscar-Nominated Scribes Behind ‘Iron Man’ And ‘Children Of Men,’ Sign With Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated writer-producers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have signed with Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment for management, Deadline has learned.

The news comes following word this morning that the pair have been tapped to script Shadow Tiger, a feature adaptation of the comic book from Sharad Devarajan.

No strangers to comic books, Fergus and Ostby rose to prominence after co-writing Children of Men and Iron Man back to back.

Released by Universal in 2006, Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian sci-fi pic Children of Men adapted P.D. James’s 1992 novel of the same name. Set in a bleak future where two decades of global human infertility have pushed society to the brink of collapse, the film follows Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a disillusioned bureaucrat, as he is unexpectedly tasked with protecting a miraculously pregnant woman, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey). Widely regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century, Children scored three Academy Award nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay, which Fergus and Ostby shared with Cuarón, David Arata, and Timothy Sexton. 

Laying the foundation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose films have now grossed over $29 billion worldwide, 2008’s Iron Man introduced Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who builds a high-tech suit of armor to become the superhero Iron Man. Reigniting Downey’s career with a role he’d go on to play in numerous Marvel projects, the film grossed over $585 million globally and was also instrumental in taking Jon Favreau’s career behind the camera to new heights.

Other feature credits for Fergus and Ostby include Cowboys & Aliens and Stealth, along with countless uncredited rewrites. Additionally, the pair wrote (with Fergus directing) the indie thriller First Snow starring Guy Pearce, Adam Scott, and J.K. Simmons. In 2015, the pair segued into television with the critically acclaimed sci-fi series The Expanse, which ran for five seasons across Syfy and Prime Video.

Currently, Fergus, Ostby and Rafe Judkins are co-creating and co-showrunning a God of War series for Amazon, based on the hugely successful PlayStation videogame. Next up, the duo will be linking arms with Felicity Jones on One, a family drama set in the world of Formula 1 racing, which will be the first scripted series authorized by the organization.

Fergus and Ostby continue to be represented by CAA and attorney Mark A. Gochman of Gochman Law Group.