The SF and Fantasy novels currently being developed for the screen (updated)

Back in February 2016, I looked at all of the science fiction and fantasy novels headed for the screen (some of which have now aired). I thought it would be useful to update the list and take a look at the status of some of these projects and some new ones that have entered the development slate since then.

Filming/Ready to Air

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Based on The Southern Reach Trilogy (2014) • Film • 23 February 2018 • Directed by Alex Garland

This film is based on the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, detailing an expedition into the mysterious "Area X" where the team encounters bizarre fauna. Frequent Danny Boyle writer and collaborator Alex Garland strikes out on his own here with only his second directed movie (his first was the very-well-received Ex Machina). The movie stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez. Although Garland only plans the one movie, it's possible we may see the sequels Authority and Acceptance filmed if the film is successful. 

How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman
Based on "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" in Fragile Things (2006) • Film • 11 May 2018 • Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

The first of numerous Neil Gaiman projects on this list, How to Talk to Girls at Parties is based on a short story from his 2006 collection, Fragile Things, about a bunch of lads who go to a party to pick up girls only to get in over their heads when the girls turn out to be not exactly what they were expecting. Filming commenced in November 2015, starring Nicole Kidman and Matt Lucas. 

The Punisher

Based on The Punisher from Marvel Comics (1974-present) • TV series • 17 November 2017 • Airing on Netflix

Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Marvel’s titular, violent vigilante from the second season of Daredevil.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Based on Ready Player One (2011) • Film • 30 March 2018 • Directed by Steven Spielberg

Spielberg's next project is based on Ernest Cline's novel, which is set in 2044 and features an "Easter Egg" hunt by both individual geeks and massive corporate powers through a huge VR world, in search of a prize that could change the world. Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke are the young stars whilst Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg and T.J. Miller provide support.

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Based on the Takeshi Kovacs novels (2002-05) • TV Series • February 2018 • Airing on Netflix

Netflix and producer Laeta Kaolgridis (Avatar, Shutter Island) have teaming up for a TV series based on Richard Morgan's violent, visceral cyberpunk trilogy featuring the character of Takeshi Kovacs. Set in the 25th Century, the story revolves around people who can "resleeve" themselves in different bodies for interstellar travel and infiltration missions. Kovacs sets out to investigate a murder and winds up wreaking bloody vengeance after he is targeted for assassination. The TV series will apparently adapt all three novels (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels and Woken Furies), as well as introducing new stories set between the books. The Land Fit For Heroes fantasy trilogy, set in the same universe (or at least multiverse), is apparently not included in the deal. Joel Kinnaman, James Purefoy, Martha Higareda, Renee Goldsberry and Dichen Lachman star.

The City and The City by China Mieville
Based on The City and The City (2009) • TV Series • 2018 • Airing on the BBC

The BBC have produced an adaptation of China Mieville's bizarre crime novel about two cities, Beszel and Ul Quoma, which coexist at the same point in space and time. Tony Grisoni, the co-writer of Tideland, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the TV series Red Riding, has written the script. David Morrissey stars as Tyador Borlu. Filming was completed in August and the project is likely to air in the first half of 2018.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Based on Good Omens (1993) • TV Series • To air on the BBC and Amazon

Pratchett and Gaiman's collaboration about the end of the world, competing angels and the horsemen of the apocalypse is both funny and profound. Terry Gilliam was attached for many years and came close to making the film in 2002, but couldn't quite close the funding deal. His Monty Python collaborator Terry Jones was also a massive fan of the novel and was also involved in writing scripts and proposals. However, galvanised by the recent passing of Terry Pratchett, the project is now filming at the BBC, with Neil Gaiman writing and producing, along with Pratchett’s Narrativia company. David Tennant and Michael Sheen star.

Watership Down by Richard Adams
Based on Watership Down (1972) • TV Series • To air on Netflix in 2018 or 2019

Netflix is deep in production on a new animated version of Richard Adams’ classic children’s novel, previously filmed in 1978. Voice recording for the series is complete, but the late 2017 release date has been moved back and – oddly – the Netflix website page for the show has been taken down, suggesting they foresee a lengthy delay as they complete the animation. James McAvoy, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Olivia Coleman, Anne-Marie Duff, Nicholas Hoult and John Boyega are providing the vocal talent.

Greenlit

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Based on The Silver Chair (1953) • Film • 2019/20 • Joe Johnston

After the disappointing performance of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010 it was assumed this movie series was dead in the water, with neither Disney nor 20th Century Fox interested in continuing the franchise. Instead, the C.S. Lewis Company and the Mark Gordon Company are apparently pressing ahead by themselves with an adaptation of The Silver Chair. Joe Johnston has confirmed that he will direct and it will also be his final film before he retires.

Dune by Frank Herbert
Based on Dune (1965) • Film • 2020/21 • Denis Villeneuve

Denis Villeneuve is slow, thoughtful SF's bright new hope, having pulled off a massive one-two punch with Arrival (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), the two smartest and most interesting SF movies of recent years. Legendary Pictures have tapped him to direct a new version of Frank Herbert's Dune, potentially as a two-movie project. However, Villeneuve has indicated he may need to take a break first, so this film might be more 3-4 years away.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Based on the His Dark Materials Trilogy (1995-2001) • TV series • 2019/20 • Airing on the BBC

New Line's previous attempt to develop Pullman's YA novel trilogy as a movie series fell afoul of the American religious lobby and the disappointing performance of the Golden Compass movie in 2007. This new attempt sees New Line partnering with Bad Wolf Productions and the BBC for an ambitious five-season, 40-episode series based on all of the books in the trilogy. Bad Wolf's development deal with HBO suggests that they may also come on board, at least to distribute the series in the United States. The project was delayed but is now in pre-production. Interest in the franchise has been reinvigorated by Philip Pullman publishing the first in a new sequel trilogy (The Book of Dust), La Belle Sauvage.

Forgotten Realms
Based on the Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting (1987-present) • Film • 2019/20• Rob Letterman

Hasbro had been fighting a legal battle with Sweetpea Entertainment for the past three years over who owns the movie and TV rights to the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game until, rather unexpectedly, they made peace through the medium of money and, mutually and swiftly, joined forces with Warner Brothers to develop a new film. This new movie will be set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting (the most detailed fantasy world ever created) and is apparently being fast-tracked for release in the next few years. Hasbro and Warner Brothers hope to develop the Dungeons and Dragons name into a Marvel-style multiverse where many different films can coexist, so there's rather a lot riding on the film. David Leslie Johnson is writing the script, Rob Letterman is directing and Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) has been courted to star.

Game of Thrones Prequel Project by George R.R. Martin
Based on A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-present) • TV • In development at HBO

With Game of Thrones itself wrapping up in 2018 or 2019, HBO are pressing forwards with an idea for a prequel show. Five different ideas are being developed by writers including Bryan Cogman and Jane Goldman with one or two expected to be greenlit as pilots and one show picked out from them to debut in 2020.

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss
Based on The Kingkiller Chronicle Trilogy (2007-present) • TV and film • In development at Lionsgate and Showtime

Patrick Rothfuss's The Kingkiller Chronicle, comprising The Name of the Wind (2007), The Wise Man's Fear (2011) and The Doors of Stone (forthcoming), is the biggest and most successful debut epic fantasy series this century so far, so it's unsurprising that when it was optioned, it was optioned big. Lionsgate plan a trilogy of films directly based on the novels, to be scripted by Lindsey Beer, and a spin-off prequel TV series. The TV series has been greenlit at Showtime, with Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) producing and providing music.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
Based on The Last Policeman (2012) • TV series • Pilot greenlit at NBC

CBS optioned this novel shortly after publication, but did not move forward with it. The rights were later sold to NBC, who have ordered a pilot. The premise is interesting: it is discovered that a massive asteroid is six months from colliding with Earth and ending all life on the planet. As chaos erupts, one cop decides to stay honest and keep investigating murders. It's a nice idea, but potentially limited, and possibly a little too similar to the film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which debuted shortly after the option was taken out.

Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin

Based on Nightflyers (1980) • TV Series • Pilot greenlit at SyFy

SyFy have ordered a pilot based on George R.R. Martin’s SF novella, previously filmed in 1987.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Based on Watchmen (1985) • TV Series • Pilot greenlit at HBO

Zack Snyder directed a faithful movie version of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel in 2009. It had a mixed reaction, some praising it for his faithfulness to the novel and others lambasting it for being too faithful, resulting in pacing issues. HBO is now moving forwards with a fresh take on the series, greenlighting a pilot to be written by Lost and Leftovers writer David Lindelof. It's unclear if this will simply adapt the novel again, taking advantage of a longer running time to explore the graphic novel's backstory in greater detail, or if it will draw on DC's controversial Before Watchmen project for additional material.


The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Based on the Witcher novels, short stories and video games (1991-present) • TV Series • Series greenlit at Netflix

A TV series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher stories has been greenlit by Netflix. Tomas Baginski, who directed the elaborate CGI mini-movies for the three video games, is producing and will direct one episode per season. It's believed his company will also provide the elaborate CGI that will be needed for the series. Sapkowski is serving as a creative consultant on the show. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown are also producing.

Optioned

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Based on Anansi Boys (2005) • TV Series • Optioned by the BBC but likely now expired

Anansi Boys is a companion novel to American Gods, focusing on side-characters from that novel. The BBC optioned this in early 2014 but no further news has been revealed. More recently, it was confirmed that the American Gods TV series will be using material from Anansi Boys in future seasons, suggesting that the BBC adaptation may no longer be happening.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Based on the Imperial Radch Trilogy (2013-15) • TV Series • Optioned by Fox

Anne Leckie's trilogy of Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy has been the big breakout space opera of the past few years, so it's unsurprising that it's been picked up by Fox TV. However, the trilogy's unusual gender definitions may make for a tricky adaptation. Here's hoping Fox don't just ignore them. 

The Black Company by Glen Cook
Based on the Black Company novels (1984-present) • TV Series • Optioned by David Goyer

The Black Company series is one of the most influential fantasy series of all time, a dark and morally complex saga of a mercenary army fighting for an evil empire. Actress Eliza Dushku and writer David Goyer have picked up the rights with a view to making an ongoing television series based on the books, and have been trying to interest a studio in the project.

Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Based on the Darkover novels (1958-2013) • TV Series • Optioned by Amazon

Amazon TV are looking at developing a TV series based on the Darkover books by Marion Zimmer Bradley and several other authors. These books are set on an ice-gripped planet where there is only one small area of human habitation. This project has been percolating on the back burner for a few years now, and it's unclear if it will move forwards.

Discworld: The City Watch by Terry Pratchett
Based on Guards! Guards! (1989) and numerous sequels • TV Series • In development at Narrativia

The City Watch, or The Watch, is a proposed 13-episode TV series based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, specifically those dealing with the Ankh-Morpork City Watch under the command of Sam Vimes. The proposed TV series would apparently, over the course of several seasons, both adapt those books (Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud! and Snuff, arguably also Monstrous Regiment) and slot in "crime of the week" one-off episodes as well. Narrativia, a production company set up by Terry Pratchett himself in 2011 and now run by his daughter Rihanna (a respected writer in her own right), is handling the adaptation. The BBC was reportedly interested before significant budget cuts at the corporation kicked in. Narrativia are apparently looking at other partners to handle the series, but there have been no firm developments for over a year now, with the company instead focusing on the Good Omens TV show. This may re-enter development once that project is completed.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Based on The Forever War (1974) • Film • In development at Warner Brothers

The Forever War is widely regarded as one of the greatest SF novels ever written, a story about a war being fought so far away that, due to relativistic effects, centuries have passed on Earth in the meantime. Joe Haldeman's allegory about the Vietnam War and the pointlessness of conflict remains powerful. After years in development hell, with Ridley Scott nearly coming on board before backing off to make Prometheus, the film rights were won by Warner Brothers. Warners have been fast-tracking the film and are trying to woo the attention of an undisclosed big-name director. Channing Tatum is attached to star in the film, a controversial choice before his well-received role in Foxcatcher suggested he was capable of handling more challenging material. Tatum's busy schedule has resulted in some delays to the project.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Based on The Foundation Saga (1950-92) • TV Series • In development at HBO and Skydance Television

HBO previously optioned the rights to the seven novels in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Set 22,000 years in the future, the series chronicles the collapse of the vast Galactic Empire and its descent into barbarism. It falls to a scientific community, the Foundation, to help guide humanity through the chaos to the rise of a new golden age centuries hence. To help them achieve this, the scientist Hari Seldon has developed a statistical system called "psychohistory", which allows them to predict the future based on the mass movements of people. However, the system is unable to predict the rise of powerful, unexpected individuals with the ability to command the loyalty of billions. When such a warlord arises, the Foundation is threatened as never before.

This planned adaptation has some heavyweight firepower behind it, with Jonathan Nolan (brother of Christopher) leading the project and HBO reportedly hoping this series will do for them and SF what Game of Thrones has done for epic fantasy. However, HBO has not commented on the project for over two years, suggesting it's on the backburner whilst Nolan focuses his time and energy on the highly successful Westworld. HBO spent a fortune to buy the rights from Sony (where Roland Emmerich was attached to direct), so it seemed unlikely they'll let it languish away and go to another studio like they've done with so many recent projects (they've lost Dark Tower, American Gods and Preacher to Sony, Starz and AMC respectively, and may rue all three before long), but Skydance Television has recently expressed an interest in buying the rights to develop elsewhere, with David Goyer potentially attached to write.

Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Based on Gateway (1975) • TV series • In development at SyFy

Frederik Pohl's classic SF novel about alien contact and exploitation has been optioned by David Eick, who helped bring Battlestar Galactica back to the screeen. It was optioned at the same time as The Expanse and Childhood's End, which have both already aired, so this looks to have been moved to the backburner for now. 

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Based on Horrorstör (2014) • TV series • In development at Fox

Five employees at the ORSK furniture superstore decide to camp overnight in the store to find out who or what is damaging the place overnight. Shenanigans ensue. Fox snapped up the rights in 2015 but has yet to move forward with it.

The House With a Clock in its Walls by Jonathan Bellairs
Based on The House with a Clock in its Walls (1973) • Film • In development at Mythology Entertainment

Mythology started developing a movie series about warlock Jonathan Barnavelt and his nephew four years ago alongside Supernatural's Eric Kripke. Kripke's commitment to several other TV shows (including a new project called Time) is probably what's resulted in this being moved onto the backburner.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Based on The Hyperion Cantos (1989-90) • TV mini-series • In development at SyFy

Actor and producer Bradley Cooper (yes, that one) has been trying to get this made for years and finally gave up on a film series. It's now in development at SyFy instead, who are eyeing an event mini-series based on Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion (the Endymion sequel novels seem to have been left out, at least for now). The series, a far-future take on The Canterbury Tales, charts the journey of several pilgrims to the planet Hyperion where they plan to confront the Shrike, an enigmatic, bizarre alien entity. In the background, galactic war threatens.

These are two undisputed classics of the SF genre and an adaptation is certainly way past times, but the books explore bizarre themes, have some weird obsessions (like the poet Keats turning up as an android) and structural tics that will make turning them into a compelling TV series interesting.

In the Lost Lands by George R.R. Martin
Based on "In the Lost Lands", "Bitterblooms" and "The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr" • Film • In development at Myriad Pictures

Myriad Pictures have optioned three short stories by George R.R. Martin and are planning to combine them into one movie. Milla Jovovich has already been tapped to play Gray Alys and Justin Chatwin is also likely to star. However, there has been no word on the project in two and a half years.


Lazarus by Greg Rucka
Based on Lazarus (2013-present) • TV series • In development at Amazon

Greg Rucka's cult comic book series, featuring powerful warriors fighting on behalf of the ruling families of a dystopian future Earth, is in the works at Amazon.

Lock In by John Scalzi
Based on Lock In (2014) • TV Series • In development at Legendary Television

John Scalzi is one of the most prominent SF authors around at the moment, and unsurprisingly he has several books in development. The premise of Lock In is that five million people suffer from a virus which paralyses them, but leaves their intellects intact. When one of the paralysed is murdered, an investigation is launched. 

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Based on The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) • TV Series • In development at Warner Brothers, Amazon interested

Warner Brothers are developing a multi-season TV adaptation of Tolkien’s famous novel, effectively remaking Peter Jackson’s epic movie trilogy from 2001-03. This has led to a baffled reaction by both fans and Hollywood insiders, especially given WB’s immense asking fee ($250 million for limited rights with a guaranteed budget of $100-$150 million per season) and the critical failure of the Hobbit movie trilogy. Nevertheless, Amazon is very interesting in the project, with Jeff Bezos personally leading negotiations.

Luna by Ian McDonald
Based on Luna: New Moon (2015) • TV Series • In development at CBS

CBS, somewhat surprisingly, won a fierce bidding war for this novel (the first of a duology) last year before it was even published. The book features five powerful families battling for control of resources on the Moon some 100 years in the future. The almost inevitable tagline will be, "Game of Thrones on the Moon". Given the money CBS shelled out, it's likely that this will move forwards further. This is also a great deal for McDonald, the much-acclaimed Northern Irish author of numerous hard SF novels (such as River of Gods, itself optioned in the past). The future of this project may be related to how Star Trek: Discovery does on CBS All Access, as this could make a solid companion series or a show to air in Star Trek’s off-period.

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
Based on the MaddAddam trilogy (2003-13) • TV Series • In development at HBO

The author who once angrily rejected being an SF writer because her books didn't feature any "talking squids" has been rehabilitated in recent years, particularly through public debates with authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin on the merits and limitations of genre fiction. She now seems more comfortable with the label, which is handy as producer (and possibly director) Darren Aronofsky is developing a TV series with HBO based on the post-apocalyptic novels Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam, which are set in a world where most of humanity has been wiped out by a pandemic and the survivors struggle to find meaning and purpose. HBO seemed to move the project onto the backburner, but there may now be progress given the success of other Attwood adaptations The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace.

Magic Kingom of Landover by Terry Brooks
Based on the Magic Kingdom of Landover series (1986-2009) • Film series • In development at Warner Brothers

With Shannara doing well for MTV, Warner Brothers have optioned and developed Terry Brooks's other big fantasy series, this one more of a comedy. Several writers have taken a stab at a script, but the project has stepped up a notch since Steve Carell was attached to produce and possibly star as the hapless American everyguy who inadvertently buys an entire magical kingdom. There are six books in the series, so there is plenty of sequel potential. The project has been on hiatus for a couple of years due to Carell's other commitments.

Mistborn & Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Based on the Mistborn novels (2006-present) and Stormlight Archive series (2010-present) • Film • Optioned by DMG Entertainment

After Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson is the biggest new epic fantasy author of the last decade, so it's unsurprising that his works have picked up the interest of Hollywood. Paloppa Pictures spent several years developing a film series based on Sanderson's first Mistborn trilogy, but this option expired in 2014. Since then, and with Sanderson's success vastly greater than during the previous option, DMG Entertainment picked up the rights to his entire Cosmere mega-series. F. Scott Frazier is writing the script for Mistborn: The Final Empire, whilst Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are writing the script for The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings. DMG are looking for an American production partner for the series.

The Morgaine Cycle by C.J. Cherryh
Based on The Morgaine Cycle (1976-88) • Film • In development

Producer Aaron Magnani and scripwriter Peter Arneson are independently developing a multi-film franchise based on C.J. Cherryh's four-novel series about a time-travelling heroine which mixes hard SF with elements of sword and sorcery. It's an interesting idea, if a slightly baffling choice of project given Cherryh's enormous number of much more well-known works, such as Cyteen, Downbelow Station or the lengthy Foreigner saga. There's been no news on this project in several years and it may be more aspirational than realistic.

Otherland by Tad Williams
Based on the Otherland quartet (1996-2001) • Film • In development at Warner Brothers

Warner Brothers optioned the Otherland SF/fantasy hybrid series back in 2012 as a potential movie franchise, but has not moved forwards with the project so far. It's possible that the length of the series may have them rethinking their options, but Tad Williams recently confirmed that there is interest in continuing the project (unlike Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, which is not under option at present). 

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Based on The Mars Trilogy (1993-96) • TV Series • Optioned by Spike TV

With The Martian finally proving that it is possible to make a successful, hit movie about the Red Planet, Spike TV fast-tracked their TV adaptation of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. Spanning 200 years, the books chronicle the colonisation of Mars, its industrial exploitation and terraforming, and the dumping of millions of refugees in a futile attempt to relieve Earth's burgeoning overpopulation as the melting Antarctic ice cap threatens to swamp the planet. This leads to tensions and an attempted revolution that goes badly wrong. Spike TV is an unusual choice for this project, but, excitingly, they tapped American SF scriptwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Crusade,Jeremiah, Sense8) to adapt the novel. Straczynski previously developed a long, political subplot about Mars as part of Babylon 5, so is familiar with the Red Planet. Unfortunately, Straczynski departed the project to focus on Sense8 and it seems to have stalled as a result. With Sense8 drawing to a close, perhaps Straczynski will return or a new producer will step up.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Based on the Red Rising Trilogy (2014-16) • Film • In development at Universal

Universal are looking at a potential franchise based on Pierce Brown's Red Rising novels (an initial trilogy and a future planned sequel trilogy) which are set on a dystopian, future Mars colony. Marc Forster is in talks to direct. 

Ringworld by Larry Niven
Based on Ringworld (1970) • TV Series • In development at Amazon

The first novel in Larry Niven's Ringworld series of novels has been optioned by Amazon.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Based on the Peter Grant series (2011-present) • TV Series • In development at Feel Films

The Peter Grant magical detective series was optioned by Feel Films in 2013, with some talk of the books being made into a TV series for the BBC. However, the BBC faced subsequent budget cuts. Feel did co-produce the Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell mini-series for the BBC, so it's possible this series may move ahead given the success of that project.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Based on Robopocalypse (2011) • Film • In development by Steven Spielberg

This novel about the robot uprising/Singularity has been an enormous success and Spielberg has been working on it for a long time now. However, he keeps pushing it back to worth on other things (most recently Ready Player One). Apparently the plan is for this to still happen, but it's on the backburner for a while.

Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Based on the Sandman comic series (1987-96) • Film • In development at Warner Brothers

Given that apparently everything ever written by Neil Gaiman is currently in development, it's unsurprising to see the work that brought him to international acclaim has also been optioned. Warner Brothers are planning a series of films based on the graphic novels. David Goyer is still attached to write. However, producer and potentiall star Joseph Gordon-Levitt has quit, along with writer Jack Thorne, citing differences between their vision for the films – which would have reflected the somewhat more thoughtful and intelligent tone of the graphic novels – and the studios’s insistence on action and special effects. The project now seems to be on the backburner whilst Warner Brothers look for an alternative team to take over.

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Based on Seveneves (2015) • Film • In development at Skydance

The same team behind Apollo 13 - director Ron Howard, writer Bill Broyles and producer Brian Grazer - are working on an adaptation of the Neal Stephenson novel. The project is on the back burner whilst Ron Howard finishes off the Star Wars movie Solo, and develops two movies based on the work of JP Delaney (The Girl Before and The Perfect Wife).

The Skin Trade by George R.R. Martin
Based on The Skin Trade (1989) • TV Series • In development at Cinemax

Given the enormous success of Game of Thrones, it's unsurprising the rest of George R.R. Martin's oeuvre has been raided for ideas. Cinemax ordered a pilot based on this World Fantasy Award-winning novella about a private detective pulled into the shadowy underworld of werewolves in contemporary America. Martin once planned a whole series of stories set in this world, so there's certainly scope for more adventures beyond the original novella. However, there has been no movement on the project in two years.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Based on Snow Crash (1991) • TV Series • In development at Amazon

Neal Stephenson's whimsical cyberpunk fable about Hiro Protagonist has been optioned by Amazon with a view to turning it into a TV show, although it's unclear if this will be an ongoing series or just a mini-series adapting the book.


Spin by Rober Charles Wilson
Based on The Spin Trilogy (2005-11) • TV mini-series • In development at SyFy

The Spin Trilogy (inevitably and affectionately also known as The Spin Cycle) sees the Earth enveloped by an energy field that speeds up time in the outside universe: for every second that passes on Earth, three years pass in the exterior universe. This allows humanity to do some incredible things, like remotely terraforming Mars in a few months, but also threatens the planet with destruction, as the Sun's lifespan is now only measured in decades rather than billions of years. It's a high concept idea. SyFy was developing an adaptation of the first novel, Spin, as an event mini-series but it looks like it's been pushed onto the backburner for now.

The Stand by Stephen King
Based on The Stand (1978) • TV Series and Film • In development at Warner Brothers

The Stand is widely regarded as Stephen King's best novel, as well as his most famous. It depicts the collapse of civilisation after a "superflu" virus wipes out most of the human race. The survivors are divided into forces of good and evil who are then brought together for a final confrontation to determine the fate of the human race. As well as an epic story in its own right, The Stand dovetails into the Dark Tower series of novels, where it is presented as an alternative reality version of the "normal" Stephen King universe. ABC aired a mini-series based on the novel in 1994 starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald. Warner Brothers has been developing this project for years, going from one massive three-hour movie to a trilogy to four separate films. The idea currently floating is for an eight-part mini-series which will lead into a feature film (directed by Josh Boone) to conclude the story. Matthew McConaughey was being considered for the role of Stu Redman, with Christian Bale being touted as Randall Flagg. However, until it is formally greenlit the project remains in gestation. Boone has recently been looking at adapting King's more modest, short novel Revival in the meantime. The massive success of It and the failure of The Dark Tower movie seems to have caused confusion on how to handle future Stephen King adaptations.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Based on Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) • TV Series • In development at SyFy

SyFy picked up the rights to the Heinlein novel last autumn and are developing a TV project with Mythology Entertainment, Scott Rudin Productions and Vecchio Entertainment. Julia Gunn is attached as a producer. The head of NBC Cable (which owns SyFy), Bonnie Hammer, has taken a personal interest in the project as the novel is one of her favourites of all time.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Based on the Temeraire series (2006-16) • Film or TV Series • In development by Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson optioned Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels - featuring an alternate history Napoleonic Wars fought with dragons - shortly after the first three were published in 2006. Jackson had planned to film them himself, but these plans were interrupted when he had to work on the Hobbit trilogy (and its own dragon) instead. More recently Jackson has supported switching the adaptation to a TV series, to make sure all nine novels are adapted faithfully. 

Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Based on the Time Trilogy (2015-16) • Film • In development by Michael Bay

Michael Bay had put this on the backburner for a while, but just last month it was confirmed that he would start working on the adaptation in 2018 for a likely 2019 or 2020 release.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Based on Uprooted (2015) • Film • In development by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Brothers

Novik's Temeraire series may be more high-concept, but her recent novel Uprooted garnered immense critical acclaim upon release and is now being developed at Warner Brothers, with talk show host and actress Ellen DeGeneres producing. There has been a lack of recent news on the project. 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Based on Vicious (2013) • Film • In development at Scott Free

V.E. Schwab's 2013 stand-alone novel, about rival college students who develop superpowers, is still under development at Ridley Scott's film company. Alexander Felix has written a script, but the project has not moved forwards so far.

The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell
Based on The Warlord Chronicles (1995-97) • TV Series • In development by Bad Wolf Productions

Cornwell's gritty, realistic take on the legend of Arthur is the best thing he's ever written, featuring epic battles, personal betrayals and a clash of religion and culture playing out in the ashes of the fallen Roman province of Britannia. Although only marginally fantasy, it's a hugely popular series amongst genre readers. Bad Wolf Productions have optioned the series, potentially for development either with the BBC or HBO (or both). 

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson)
Based on The Wheel of Time (1990-2013) • TV Series • Optioned by Sony Television

The biggest-selling work of epic fantasy since The Lord of the Rings, it's somewhat mind-boggling that this series hasn't already been made, let alone seriously developed. NBC held an option at the turn of the century and Universal Pictures developed a movie script a few years ago, but ran into structural issues with getting the entire 14-volume story into a reasonable number of movies. Jordan himself rejected a proposed anime project from a Japanese studio in the early 2000s, as they only wanted to adapt the first three books and round the story off there. Red Eagle Productions has held the film and TV rights since 2004, but Jordan was unhappy with their progress. The film and TV rights reverted to the Jordan Estate a year ago, but Red Eagle self-produced an infomercial based on the opening prologue to The Eye of the World (the first novel in the series) in an attempt to forestall this. Legal action resulted, with Red Eagle retaining a production credit on future projects.

Sony Television Pictures (the company behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) have picked up the television rights. Given their pre-existing relationship with AMC (who would likely love to have a potential Game of Thrones-beater on their hands), it's possible that we could see a Wheel of Time TV series taking shape through that partnership. However, others have suggested Amazon or Netflix as a more logical home for a massive, ambitious project that will take serious commitment and budget to see through to its end. Rafe Judkins will write and produce.


Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Based on Who Fears Death (2010) • TV Series • Pilot greenlit at HBO

George R.R. Martin brought the attention of HBO to bear on Nnedi Okorafor's hard-hitting novel set in post-apocalyptic Sudan, who are now developing the project with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds as writer.

Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin, Melinda Snodgress & many others
Based on Wild Cards (1987-present) • TV Series or Film • Previously optioned by SyFy

Long before he wrote A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin was best known for creating the shared-world superhero series known as Wild Cards. Along with other authors - two dozen of them at last count - he developed a series of anthologies. The twenty-third anthology in the series comes out this year. Wild Cards is set in an alternate timeline where an alien race attacked New York City with a virus in 1947. This virus killed 90% of the people it infected, turned another 9% into mutated freaks and 1% into superheroes. An alternate history of the 20th Century unfolds in light of this development. Writers for the series have included Melinda Snodgrass (herself a veteran of television), Paul Cornell, David Anthony Durham, Pat Cadigan, Chris Claremont and Roger Zelazny.

SyFy previously optioned Wild Cards as a series of movies, but the people at SyFy keen on the project subsequently left. The rights were allowed to lapse, but, surprisingly, SyFy re-optioned them as an ongoing television series, with Melinda Snodgrass involved in writing and producing.

Y: The Last Man by Bryan Vaughan
Based on Y: The Last Man (2002-08) • TV Series • In development at FX

Bryan Vaughan has hit it big in television, working on shows such as Lost and Under the Dome, but his origins were in comics, particularly the crazy space opera Saga and the classic Y: The Last Man. Saga is unlikely ever to be adapted (with Vaughan apparently refusing to sell the rights), but Y: The Last Man is being developed at FX by Nina Jacobson, the producer of the Hunger Games movies. The comic is set in a world where all male mammals have been wiped out apart from one man and one monkey. They find themselves trying to survive in a world where they are a prize and a target. 

Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods, which will also get you exclusive content weeks before it goes live on my blogs. The Cities of Fantasy series is debuting on my Patreon feed and you can read it there one month before being published on the Wertzone.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

An alternate-history 1946. Nazi Germany, its military enhanced by advanced technology and supernatural forces, is in the cusp of winning the war. In a last-ditch effort to stop them, a joint British-US assault is launched on the fortress headquarters of "Deathshead", the genius behind the Nazi's advanced technology. The assault goes badly wrong and American war hero B.J. Blazkowicz is left in a coma for fourteen years. When he wakes up, the entire world has been conquered by the Nazis. He decides to join forces with an underground resistance in Berlin and sets about liberating the planet from the oppressors.

The Wolfenstein franchise is one of the most venerable in all of gaming, dating back to Castle Wolfenstein in 1981. The third game in the series, Wolfenstein 3D (1992, from id Software), is the first game to be what is commonly called a first-person shooter, although id later abandoned the franchise in favour of their Doom series, which built on the same technology. The franchise was resurrected with 2003's Return to Castle Wolfenstein and 2009's Castle Wolfenstein, which rebooted the series.

Wolfenstein: The New Order, originally released in 2014, is likewise a reboot of the series, but confusingly the events of the previous two games are still considered to have, in general, happened, but the games themselves are not necessarily canon. This "soft reboot" means that you can start playing The New Order with no foreknowledge of the series, as the game quickly brings you up to speed on what's going on.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is a classic first-person shooter. You view events from Blazkowicz's perspective as you make your way through numerous missions. In each mission your objective is to secure something - usually files, a device or prisoners - and then escape, usually in the face of stiff resistance. Each mission usually involves a titanic amount of combat, although there is a surprisingly robust stealth mode where you can use silent takedowns, knives and silenced weapons to progress without triggering alarms and massive retaliation from the enemy. Later missions feature powerful robot or mech enemies who can be taken down, however, leaving combat as the only way forwards.

There's also more story-focused interludes which take place between missions when you return to Resistance HQ under Berlin. In these sequences you can talk to other characters, undertake side-missions and learn more information about the Nazi-conquered world. Rather unexpectedly, there's also a romance that Blazkowicz can pursue with another character, which then leads to further revelations about the world and the background to the game.

Overall, The New Order is a very solid FPS. It features some crazy, intense action sequences that are fitting to its franchise origins as well as some very good stealth options. Unexpectedly, the game leans into the BioShock/Half-Life model of depicting an in-depth narrative through environmental information, optional conversations and the creation of a particular and effectively bleak atmosphere. The New Order is effectively a game about a hero killing a truly spectacular number of Nazis, but it plays its material straight and it doesn't hold back on the horrors of the Nazi regime. One mission takes place in a concentration camp, whilst another takes place in a lab where the Nazis perform experiments on live human subjects. I was expecting this to lead to a tonal mismatch, but that never happens, the game moving from a WWII military shooter to a more sci-fi approach via a pulp action game without ever coming across as campy. It's a startling balancing act and one the game pulls off with aplomb.

The characters in the game are memorable, from disabled rebel commander Caroline Becker to guitar-playing exile "J" to one of Blazkowicz's war buddies (you choose which one to save early in the game, which results in a moderately different timeline unfolding for the rest of the game). The game spends a welcome amount of time fleshing out these characters in sequences set back at the rebel base and in dialogue between the characters which is unusually well-written. Your band of rebels is a cool bunch of people to hang out with and I was disappointed more wasn't done with this aspect of the game.

The action itself is satisfyingly frenetic, with the stealth options allowing you change things up a bit if you so choose. The game doesn't force a redundant cover system on you, nor does it feature regenerating health, the most tiresome crutches of the modern FPS. Most welcome, it doesn't limit you to two or three guns. Instead you can carry round your entire arsenal with you at a time and can even dual-wield almost every weapon in the game. You also have a laser which can be used offensively or as a cutting tool to solve environmental puzzles (it's basically this game's version of Half-Life 2's Gravity Gun, and is quite good fun).

There aren't too many negatives. The game's length at around 10 hours is a bit disappointing by old-school FPS standards, but by the standards of almost every FPS released in the last ten years it's actually quite decent. The latter part of the game feels a bit rushed and the final boss fight is a little bit preposterous, even by the standards of the rest of the game. The game is also fairly easy: playing on the medium difficulty level, there were a couple of brief difficulty spikes but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward game that throws weapons, health and armour at you in near-ridiculous quantities.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (****½) is a fun, surprisingly well-written and very well-characterised action/stealth game that pulls off exactly what it's trying to achieve. The game is available now in the UK (PC, PS4, X-Box One and USA (PC, PS4, X-Box One). An expansion, The Old Blood and a sequel, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, are available now.

Rick and Morty: Season 3

Earth now knows of the existence of alien life and has been "inducted" into the Galactic Federation. Rick Sanchez is a prisoner of the Federation, his mind constantly being probed for information. Needless to say, it isn't long before Rick has escaped, reunited with his family and once again begins a new series of adventures...that is, if his own self-loathing doesn't destroy him and everyone around him in the process.

For its first two seasons, Rick and Morty was a cult show with a solid but small fanbase. In the two years since Season 2 aired, however, the show's fame has exploded. DVD, Blu-Ray and Netflix have brought the show to a more widespread, global audience, Ricky and Morty T-shirts are now everywhere and memes from the show are widespread.

As the first season to air in the full view of a global audience, this third go-around for Rick and his grandson Morty starts off feeling a bit off, like Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are a bit blinded by the glare of worldwide publicity. Where jokes and ideas in the first two seasons came naturally, the humour in the third season feels a little forced, at least to start with, and going for a Mad Max: Fury Road spoof in the second episode feels a bit lazy (and rather late). Once the show gets a couple of episodes under its belt, however, things relax and we're back into Rick and Morty as we know it: an escalating series of crazy intergalactic adventures rooted in the characters' mundane home life.

The home life side of things is somewhat reduced this year, though. Jerry and Beth have separated (and aside, from a couple of key episodes, Jerry sits out a large chunk of the season) and what focus there is on Earthside adventures instead delves deeply into Rick's psyche. One of the more interesting twists of the show is that Rick is often simultaneously the protagonist and antagonist (and sometimes the villain, but not really the hero) of the series, with this season showing his uglier, nastier side in even greater detail then we've seen it before. The show seems to want to hammer home the idea that Rick is not a nice or mentally well-adjusted person, which is a reasonable move as it adds character depth, but sometimes the show feels like it's going overboard with it (especially since, almost invariably, Rick eventually comes good before the end of the episode).

This dark journey into Rick's soul is effective, if a bit overdone, but the season is at its best when it relaxes a little and goes bananas. The "Pickle Riiiick!" episode successfully mixes the two approaches, and the season finale works as a knockabout adventure. The best episode of the season, in fact, is the seventh, where "our" Rick and Morty sit out the episode in favour of a storyline set entirely on the Citadel, where Ricks and Mortys from across the multiverse live together. This clever and inventive episode sets up what should have been a long-term plot developing over the season, although this was sabotaged as production delays meant that the season was cut by four episodes. Hopefully we should see this plotline developed next season instead.

The third season of Rick and Morty (****) is therefore watchable, reliably entertaining and full of quite a few genuine laughs and thought-provoking moments. However, it's arguably the least consistent in terms of quality, some storylines are not really well-developed and its decision to stare into the rotten soul of Rick for episodes on end can become repetitive. There's also a distinct lack of memorable new characters this year. But it remains one of the most interesting and amusing animated shows on air.

The series is available to watch now via Adult Swim in the US and Netflix in the UK and most other territories.

The impact of the Amazon/Tolkien deal on the WHEEL OF TIME TV show

The news broke last night that Amazon are in talks with Warner Brothers about making a big-budget TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, despite the perception that Peter Jackson's movie trilogy is too recent and a remake at this time is unnecessary. What's been less reported is how this will impact on Sony's TV version of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels, which were widely expected would end up at Amazon.

To rewind, in April 2017 it was confirmed that Sony TV had optioned the rights to The Wheel of Time in a complex deal involving the Robert Jordan Estate (aka the Bandersnatch Group) and Red Eagle Entertainment. A few months earlier it was heavily rumoured that Amazon were seriously considering making the series, as Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos is a huge fan of SF and fantasy in general (he had a cameo in the latest Star Trek movie, Beyond) and - apparently - Wheel of Time is one of his favourite book series. Amazon also recently reorganised their TV production division, cancelling several smaller shows and Bezos mandating the acquisition of a big-budget SFF project to compete with Game of Thrones on HBO. Wheel of Time was a no-brainer for this treatment.

However, seven months after Sony confirmed it had optioned the book rights, no production partner has been confirmed. Although not completely unusual - many years between optioning a property and greenlighting it is not unheard of - it was expected that studios would move quickly to snatch up the rights to a property that could comfortably go toe-to-toe with Game of Thrones in terms of epic scenes, number of characters and scale. Now it appears we know why there's been radio silence: Warner Brothers have been (quietly) shopping around their new Lord of the Rings TV project around at the same time. Although studios appear to be dubious about making a new LotR screen project so soon after Jackson's film series, they are also weighing carefully the benefits of picking up a much more well-known franchise which would get a lot of viewers from the off.

This leaves The Wheel of Time TV project in an awkward place. WoT was - comfortably - the biggest and most successful epic fantasy series not currently under an option, so it had a degree of brand value in the marketplace. With Middle-earth in play, that is no longer the case and the problems of adapting Wheel - its immense visual effects requirements, high budget and the challenges of adapting 14 books totalling 4 million words (eight times the length of Lord of the Rings) in a reasonable timeframe - may have come into greater focus.

It's worth looking now at the channels and broadcasters who may be in the running to adapt WoT and see how likely they are to follow through:

Amazon

Amazon are in deep discussion with Warner Brothers over the LotR TV show and Jeff Bezos is a noted fan of the books. He is personally involved in negotiations. They are clearly taking this approach very seriously. However, they have not committed yet. WB are asking for an astonishing amount of money up-front (totalling a third of a billion dollars) and are not bringing anything new to the table. Only The Lord of the Rings is on offer, with perhaps a possibility of The Hobbit as well, but none of Tolkien's other Middle-earth books are included in the deal, so no new material can be brought to the screen that hasn't been adapted previously. Although the deal is tempting, Amazon will likely have to weight up the benefits of the brand name and value versus the likely criticisms they will get for not going for a more original project.

If Amazon passes on LotR I could see them picking up WoT. This is a new project (for the screen) but also one that will last easily six or seven seasons (at least) and they can cross-market the show with the books and other merchandise. Amazon also appear to be the only company in the running who can stump up the significant budget that Wheel of Time will require. However, I strongly suspect that they will be more inclined to go with LotR if they can make the finances work.

HBO

HBO have already shot down the LotR project, citing their ongoing commitment to Game of Thrones and its in-development spin-offs. I think we can comfortably say that if they're not going to pick up LotR, they're not going to pick up Wheel of Time either. HBO are now 100% out of the picture.

Showtime

Showtime have committed to Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle prequel TV show. Until this project succeeds or fails, Showtime are also unlikely to seriously consider Wheel of Time.

AMC

Sony and AMC have an excellent prior relationship from Breaking Bad and I suspect AMC will be seriously considering the advantages of adapting Wheel of Time to add to their enviable SFF programming, which currently includes The Walking Dead and Preacher. However, AMC's preferred business model has them making shows for a very, very low budget and just making them look impressive, allowing them to maximise profits. They have already faced heavy criticism for the shoestring budget that The Walking Dead is made under, despite the show's massive global success. It is unlikely that AMC would give The Wheel of Time the $6-7 million per episode budget it will need as a minimal starting point. Still, AMC may still be in the picture if they can be persuaded to loosen the pursestrings.

Starz

Starz are also enjoying a spectacular surge in genre programming, with both Outlander and American Gods doing very well. Wheel of Time would be an enviable addition to their lineup, and Starz certainly are prepared to spend more money than AMC. They may be tempted to take another look at Wheel of Time if Amazon are now out of the picture.

FX

FX have been quietly building a slate of excellent shows recently, including Fargo, Legion, American Horror Story, Archer, The Americans and Atlanta. A high-budget, high-profile fantasy show is precisely what they are missing, and they also aired Red Eagle's proof-of-concept Wheel of Time pilot thing a couple of years ago, for which they received a lot of interest from viewers.

CBS

I'd previously dismissed CBS as being a likely home for the show, since their budgets for network shows are pretty small. Since then, however, they've launched the CBS All Access platform and achieved significant success with Star Trek: Discovery, which has a budget of $7 million per episode. If CBS wish to maintain momentum with the All Access project they will need another high-profile killer app, and Wheel of Time could well be it.

SyFy

SyFy has achieved some success with the TV show The Expanse, but has recently cancelled several shows and their bandwidth for making lots of big-budget shows at once is limited. I consider SyFy to have only an outside shot at the moment.

Netflix

Netflix would seem like a very probability on the list. They have developed a portfolio of shows, but they don't yet have an epic fantasy show to go toe-to-toe with GoT. It would seem likely that they would be interested. However, Netflix have gotten into significant debt to deliver their current slate of of shows and have axed expensive series such as Sense8 and House of Cards (it was widely reported that the sixth season would be the final one even before they axed Kevin Spacey) in favour of much cheaper programming, such as GLOW and American Vandal. Although Netflix's overall programming budget is increasing, the amount they are willing to pay per-show is definitely decreasing (although they have noted this may increase again, and certainly Stranger Things is not a cheap show to make). Wheel of Time would likely remain of interest to them, however, and if they decide a new high-profile show is needed they would likely stump up more money.

ETA: Netflix are developing a TV series based on The Witcher video games and books by Andrzej Sapkowksi, which likely would reduce their interest in another top-tier fantasy show.

Conclusion

The Amazon/LotR discussions are troubling to Wheel of Time fans as they would seem to shut down the most logical pairing of network and project. However, other networks remain in play. I would say at the moment that Starz, AMC and FX may now all be more likelier destinations for the project, with CBS All Access and Netflix as outsider players. If Amazon choose not to proceed with LotR, I suspect they would also take another look at Wheel of Time.

More concerning will be oversaturation of the market: if, by 2021 or thereabouts, we have a Kingkiller Chronicle TV show, a GoTspin-off (or two), a Lord of the Rings TV series and additional seasons of Shannara and American Gods all on air at the same time, it might be felt that further fantasy series would be redundant. As usual, time will tell.

Tolkien Estate and Warner Brothers to collaborate on a new LORD OF THE RINGS TV series

In a surprising and unexpected move, the Tolkien Estate and Warner Brothers are teaming up to to produce a television series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings.

The news comes fourteen years after Peter Jackson completed his epic movie trilogy for New Line Cinema (now owned by Warner Brothers) and just three years after he completed a prequel trilogy, based on The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy grossed just under $3 billion at the box office (and considerably more in merchandising sales) and considerable critical acclaim, including seventeen Oscars. The Hobbit trilogy, despite a much more mixed critical reception, actually made slightly more money at the box office but off the back of twice the budget, so was less profitable (although this is relative; WB were very happy with $2.3 billion in profit).

However, the Tolkien Estate was unhappy with the movies, with Christopher Tolkien feeling they were special-effects-focused and lacking the soul of the books (although this was before he'd watched them). The Estate was also unhappy with how their legal rights were respected. They ended up fighting at least three legal battles against the studio, the first to secure the correct share of the profits, the second to clear up the rights to The Hobbit and the third to resolve whether the original deal in the 1960s granted the movie producers the rights to make gambling tie-ins, when this was not part of the original deal.

The new deal is said to be enormous, with an up-front rights fee of $250 million and a guaranteed per-season budget of between $100 and $150 million, which would exceed the record-setting $100 million budget of Game of Thrones in its last three seasons. For this reason only three studios are in the running: HBO, Netflix and Amazon. HBO apparently took a brief look, but turned down the deal, feeling it would conflict with their plans to expand their Game of Thrones franchise (although the idea of a fresh Lord of the Rings adaptation, possibly with noted Tolkien fan George R.R. Martin in an advisory role for HBO, is intriguing). Netflix are still in the running but they are currently looking to strip back some of their excess spending in the face of a mounting debt bill, which would not be compatible with this project.

Instead, Amazon seem to be the most likely studio to pick up the deal. Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon, is personally involved in negotiations and they come just after he mandated the need for a massive, high-profile show to directly compete with Game of Thrones. Bezos, a fan of science fiction and fantasy, is believed to have been eyeing the Wheel of Time TV series in development at Sony, of which he is also reportedly a major fan, but obviously a Middle-earth TV show would have a far higher profile. Amazon TV also have the money to afford to pay the enormous rights and not be too badly damaged if the show tanks.

The reported involvement of the Tolkien Estate is surprising, although it has been suggested that it might be Saul Zaentz's Middle-earth Enterprises (who have held the TV and film rights to both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings since the late 1960s) that's involved rather than the Estate directly. This would explain why apparently only The Lord of the Rings is currently in play, possibly with an expansion to include The Hobbit. The rights to the other Middle-earth books, namely The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Children of Hurin and Beren and Luthien, firmly remain with the Tolkien Estate and are apparently not up for discussion in the current deal.

Given the immense popularity of the Tolkien books and the boost it would give Amazon, it's likely that this deal will go through. The only stumbling block will be the perception that this is far too soon after Peter Jackson movie universe was completed and a TV series launched in ten years might be a better proposition. It's also likely that a TV project of this magnitude will require a heavy-hitting showrunner and creative force to be involved, and unless there is it may founder for a lack of creative talent.

More damaging is the possible impact on Sony's Wheel of Time project, which seemed a natural fit at Amazon and would require the resources that only really Amazon can offer. If Amazon can take up this Middle-earth deal, it  may dramatically reduce the likelihood of the Wheel of Time adaptation continuing, at least in the short term.

New BOOKS OF BABEL cover art

Orbit Books have unveiled the cover art for their big-label editions of Josiah Bancroft's Books of Babel fantasy series.

The new edition uses the same cover art (by Ian Leino) for Senlin Ascends as on the self-published edition, with a new typeface and a cover blurb from Mark Lawrence (who has been championing Bancroft for the last couple of years).

Book 2, Arm of the Sphinx, has a new cover design. The arm and fist of the original cover design has been combined with the Tower of Babel from the first book.

The mass-market editions of Senlin Ascends (UK, USA) and Arm of the Sphinx (UK, USA) will be published in January and April 2018 respectively. The third novel, The Hod King, should (hopefully) get it's first release in late 2018, followed by the fourth and concluding volume in the series some time later.

Creative Assembly unveil TOTAL WAR schedule for the next few years

Since 2000, British developers Creative Assembly have been cranking out games in their Total War series of strategy wargames. The Total War games feature a grand strategy layer, where you expand your empire, develop cities, assemble armies, research upgrades and new technology and then move those armies around into enemy territory. When battle results, the game switches to a 3D battle map where you can take direct control of your armies.

To date there have been eleven games in the series (Shogun, Medieval, Rome, Medieval II, Empire, Napoleon, Shogun II, Rome II, Attila, Warhammer and Warhammer II), nine major expansions and hordes of smaller DLC. The franchise has sold over 20 million copies and even spawned a BBC television series, Time Commanders, featuring players testing their wits against one another in battle whilst historical experts advise them (and are usually completely ignored).

Most recently, the series has taken a surprising ahistorical swing towards fantasy. Although the series has always played fast and loose with history - it's far more "inspired by" the historical events than setting out to painstakingly recreate them - the move into the Warhammer fantasy universe from Games Workshop was unexpected. It's also been an immense success, with both Warhammer games selling excellently and getting superb reviews. Total War: Warhammer II was released a few weeks ago to immense acclaim and the Mortal Empires expansion (which merges the strategy maps from Warhammer I and II into one super-campaign) was released this week.

CA have set out reassure fans of their historical games that they are being catered to as well, with three historical warfare games in development. CA's development slate currently looks like this:

Untitled Expansion for Previous Game
This should be formally announced shortly, but CA are working on a further expansion for the "biggest historical game they have ever done", one of their older titles. As well as featuring a new campaign, this expansion will update and revise the base game as well, possibly with better graphics and features. Although some fans are speculating this is a further expansion for Rome II or Shogun II, it may be an update and expansion for Empire: Total War. Released in 2009, Empire was the first game to use the current Warscape Engine and was infamously bugged on release (and some bugs remain in current versions of the game). Fixing Empire's remaining problems and upgrading the graphics would be a welcome move, as would adding a more focused campaign like the title's stand-alone Napoleon spin-off. This will be the next Total War game, likely to be released in 2018.

Warhammer III
CA's Warhammer series was always going to be a trilogy and the third game will likely expand the map eastwards. Among the most likely new factions are the Chaos Dwarves, Ogre Kingdoms, Tomb Kings and Daemons of Chaos. It's possible this game will expand on the forces of Chaos in general, and may even incorporate the End Times events (presumably with the player having to the option to change the outcome, otherwise the game would be a major downer). Given the eighteen-month wait between Warhammer and Warhammer II, the earliest we can expect this is probably mid-2019.

Total War Saga
CA are working on a series of "smaller-focused" games like Napoleon and Attila, with the banner title of Total War Sagas. These games will still be Total War games but will have a relatively narrow focus. The first game in this sequence will be set in Ireland (CA begrudgingly admitted it after their "obscure" screenshot turned out to be readily identifiable) and will likely revolve around both internal Irish clan warfare and the arrival of Viking invaders. I'd expect this game in 2019.

Untitled Next Full-On Historical Game
CA have confirmed that the next historical game is in full development and they are working on urban battles (after complaints about the pared-down and underwhelming sieges in the Warhammer games). Although they have decided, after years of prevaricating, they will do further sequels in the future (making a Medieval III near-inevitable for the mid-2020s), this game will be set in an all-new era that the series has not visited before. I wouldn't expect to see this game until 2020.

As for the possibilities, the most likely one is China. The base game could be set in the Warring States period and DLC could then add in the Three Kingdoms, An Lushan and Jin-Song periods, as well as potentially the Mongol invasion, conflicts with ancient Korea and later periods. China has been completely left untouched by the Total War franchise, which is a bit odd given its suitability to the franchise, so this seems the most likely possibility. India and the South and Central American empires are possible, but some of the other ideas mooted (Ancient Greece and Persia, the Wars of the Roses) overlap heavily with already-published Total War games and don't match the "whole new setting" description.

An additional possibility, after the fantasy team has finished with the Warhammer trilogy, is that there will be more fantasy games. Strong candidates for this treatment would be, of course, A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos. There are already excellent mods for Medieval II (the last game in the series to allow in-depth mods) for these settings, but seeing official versions would be quite intriguing.

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock

The Twelve Colonies of Kobol have constructed robotic servitors, the Cylons, to work as servants, soldiers...and slaves. The Cylons have rebelled, constructed a significant fleet and launched a series of attacks against the divided Colonies. The Colonial Fleet has been constructed to meet the threat, but they continue to bicker amongst themselves. It falls to the officers of the Fleet to lead the defence of the Twelve Colonies against a remorseless and relentless foe.

The rebooted Battlestar Galactica TV series ran for four seasons, a mini-series and two TV movies between 2003 and 2009. A remake of a cheesy late 1970s show, it featured (for the first two-and-a-bit seasons anyway) outstanding acting, superb and nuanced writing and some fantastic, spectacular space battles. It's surprising that we haven't seen a video game based on the series before, given its gritty complexity and the fact that the mythos are rich in different possibilities for gameplay, not to mention there's a very well-received board game based on the series already. The only previous official game for the setting was a low-key Facebook MMO.

It's therefore a bit random to see an official video game show up eight years after the TV show ended, although the fact it's from a tiny Australian studio and a small British publisher with limited budgets may explain that. Normally you wouldn't be expecting much from a game developed in apparently a small period of time (it was announced less than a year ago), on clearly a very tight budget, from niche companies. It's thus a pleasure to say that Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock is excellent, a hybrid of XCOM and Homeworld with a great storyline and lots of excellent adherence to the established lore whilst bringing in new ideas.

Deadlock is a two-tier game with a grand strategic layer and a tactical combat mode. The strategy layer shows a map of the Twelve Colonies on which you can build new ships, assemble new fleets, research new ships and weapons and make sure you're keeping the Colonies happy (leave a Colony under attack for too long and they'll withdraw from the Articles of Colonisation, along with their funding, a bit like XCOM). When one of your fleets meets a Cylon force, the game shifts to a Homeworld-style 3D battle map. You move your ships, launch fighters, select what weapons to use and can distribute power on each ship, boosting weapons power or hardening your computer systems to stop the Cylons hacking them. You can also recruit Colonial officers and level them up, which grants you special abilities in battle (such as being able to better resist Cylon infiltration squads if you give your commander the Marine Tactics specialisation) and allows you to bring more ships to an engagement.

The space battles are fought using the WEGO system, where both sides give orders and then the orders unfold simultaneously. This means you not only have to choose what to do, you have to take into account what the enemy may do on their side and anticipate accordingly. Each ship on each side has different capabilities, armour, speed and defences and as the campaign continues you have to learn the best way of using your ships and their abilities. Early battles, fought with the speedy, missile-laden but lightly-armoured Manticore-class gunboats and the more formidable Adamant-class frigates, tend to be fast and furious. Later battles, fought with Jupiter-class battlestars (like the Galactica) against Cylon basestars, are slower, more strategic and have many more options, with you having to decide to close to close range to use your railguns or stand off at long range and exchange missile barrages, timing when to use a flak barrage to take down an enemy missile volley whilst not blowing up your own ordinance or fighters by accident.

Slightly disappointingly, there isn't an open, Total War-style campaign where you can go from a lowly starting fleet to outright victory at your own pace; the game only covers the first few months of the Cylon War (out of twelve years), so ends with a major strategic victory, not the outright defeat of the enemy. Instead the game has a series of important "story" missions, which unlock new units and technology. You can choose to delay these missions to take on optional side-battles and build up more resources but the war doesn't move on until you do the campaign missions. Rushing these missions is a bad idea (particularly in the early game, where you want to start building up multiple fleets as early as possible) since you'll get overwhelmed quickly, so there's a strong judgement call to be made in when to trigger the next story mission and ramp up the difficulty and when to hold back to stockpile more tylium ore and requisition points for later developments. This is more like XCOM and works pretty well, but does reduce the scope for replayability.


The game's storyline is excellent, matching what we know of the lore whilst also introducing new elements. The presentation is slick - the graphical interface is very true to the TV show, the strategy map uses a big table and models just like the battle planning on the TV show and the Bear McCreary-ish music is outstanding - but there are moments when the lack of budget shines through. The voice acting is variable and the dialogue can be a little hammy. The late-game introduction of a Cylon character also feels a bit random, although it does change things up when battles are threatening to get a bit repetitive.

There are a few other niggles. Having to manually launch each Viper squadron from each ship can be a bit mind-numbing, especially when you get to the late game when you might have eight or nine squadrons in battle. A command to order all of your fighters around as one unit would be welcome (something Black Lab Games are looking at for a future patch). There's also occasional difficulty spikes which the game doesn't do a very good job of explaining or advising on how to overcome them. I kept getting annihilated when the missile-spamming basestars showed up until I realised that the flak cannons on battlestars can shoot down missiles as well as Cylon Raiders. It also feels like targeting and firing missiles and selecting which ship to focus fire on all involve at least one or two more mouse clicks than should be really necessary. As a turn-based game, none of these are critical issues and all commands in the game have keyboard shortcuts which make things a lot smoother.

Ultimately, Deadlock is both a great strategy game and a great BSG game, with lots of authentic flavour. Far superior to last year's Warhammer 40,000 space game (Battlefleet Gothic: Armada), Deadlock may in fact be the finest space tactics game since Homeworld 2's release fourteen years ago.

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock (****) is that most welcome of games, a title that arrived with little fanfare and turns out to be excellent. The tactics are fiendish and compelling, the strategic layer adds some extra freedom to the game, the presentation is first-rate and the story is well-done. Some questionable voice acting and a few UI niggles do make the game slightly more labourious to play than it should be, but so far the developers have done a good job of patching out issues based on feedback so these may improve. The game ends with ten years of the war left to fight, and I would more than welcome an expansion or sequel further exploring this time period.

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock is available on PC now via Steam. Versions for the PlayStation 4 and X-Box One should follow in the next few weeks.