Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
Clearing the Myst: Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has acquired the television (and film) rights to the fantasy video game Myst. Plans are currently in the works for a multi-platform universe that will include a scripted and unscripted TV series as well as films and more. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description of the existing game and novels:
The Myst canon has over 10,000 years of history, but its primary saga follows Atrus, a brilliant, but wet-behind-the-ears grandson of Anna, a woman who triggers a world-shaping set of events when she discovers the D’ni civilization in a cavern deep below the New Mexico desert. The D’ni have a unique ability to write books that can link to other worlds. The discovery of their ability and the clash of cultures is the catalyst for the Myst novels and games.
Plans for a television series were previously announced back in 2015 with Hulu as the network and Legendary TV holding the rights to the property. It appears that Village Roadshow has now picked up the ball and will work on expanding the franchise. There is no word at this point on whether Hulu is still involved.
Final Fantasy Heads to Television: A live-action series based on the sci fi / fantasy game Final Fantasy is in early development Not too many details are available about the series at this point, but according to Hollywood Reporter the show will “center on an original story set in the world of Eorzea, first introduced in the online game Final Fantasy XIV.” Hivemand, the production company for The Expanse, will produce the series and Jason F. Brown (also from The Expanse team) will executive produce. Several animated movies as well as an Anime series have previously been produced for the franchise.
Clooney Signs Up for Netflix: George Clooney has another streaming service project in the works as he plans to direct and star in a Netflix film based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s 2016 novel Good Morning, Midnight. The Wrap gives the following description of the project:
Good Morning, Midnight is a post-apocalyptic tale about the parallel stories of Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to make contact with the crew of the Aether spacecraft as they try to return home to Earth.
Clooney recently produced and starred in Catch 22 for Hulu.
Prequel to the Prequel: The upcoming Dark Crystal prequel TV series that will debut on Netflix in late August will get a prequel of its own with a comic book series from Boom! Studios. It will be titled Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Hollywood Reporter gives the following description:
The 12-issue series, written by Nicole Andelfinger (Adventure Time) with art by Matias Basla (Sparrowhawk), will explore the history of characters and events referenced in the new Netflix series, as one Gelfling soldier undertakes a quest for a mysterious item that could bring peace to the land of Thra once and for all — unaware that his mission will change the realm forever in ways he can’t even imagine.
The first issue will be released on September 25th. The TV series debuts on August 30th.
Production Notes: Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Awkwafina (Future Man), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Ghostbusters), Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and The Wasp) and Dave Goelz (The Dark Crystal) have joined the voice cast of Netflix’s upcoming The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Michael Chabon (John Carter) has been announced as the showrunner for the upcoming Star Trek: Picard series. Dominic Sherwood (Shadowhunters) and Ethan Peck (Star Trek: Discovery) have been cast in Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, a spin-off from the original Penny Dreadful.
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