After a sneak peak at SDComic-Con, KICK-ASS may get a buyer soon. Matthew Vaughn’s comic-book adaptation follows a shy teen geek who re-invents himself as a superhero. Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. penned the original ‘zine.

The HollywoodReporter notes that Lionsgate, Paramount and Universal are all battling to land the pic after an overall deal with Sony collapsed. Vaughn and his Marv Films had overall concerns with the studio’s desire to age a character (pre-adolescent girl) key to the story.

The right studio will pick-up KICK-ASS in the seven figure range with a solid P & A commitment. The ultra-violent super-kid-pic stars Nic Cage, Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz. KICK-ASS marks a larger trend wherein large-scale commercial films are produced outside the system.