Welcome to Larval Ink, a recurring feature which will take a look at the earliest iterations of certain genre films as they existed in their early scripting stage, long before the transformation which significantly changed the original vision into its final form for the silver screen. Here, we will be chatting with the writers of these initial eggs to gain their unique insights into their screenplays and the finished films they would eventually metamorphose into, and all the painful phases in between.

With this installment, we’ll be delving into Solace, a screenplay which originated in the mid-90s and was eventually produced as the 2015 film of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish and Colin Farrell. Penned by Sean Bailey (Push, Nevada) and Ted Griffin (Ocean’s 11, Matchstick Men), Solace may seem an unusual fit for this column, as it was eventually realized in a pretty faithful manner onscreen. However, during the early aughts, it was briefly developed as the sequel to David Fincher’s Se7en, rumored to be retitled as Ei8ht.

On hand to discuss the process of changing the original screenplay into a sequel to another film is Mr. Griffin, who was kind enough to discuss the screenplay’s origins, dispel a few erroneous rumors, and provide his ultimate thoughts on the film it eventually became.

“The initial idea of a clairvoyant brought in to catch a serial killer was Sean Bailey’s,” Mr. Griffin reveals, discussing the project’s genesis. “He wrote a first draft, then together we rewrote it considerably. This was way back in 1996, so Se7en had just come out and was (and is) a conspicuous influence on the script. Our draft kicked around a bit, optioned here and there before it landed with New Line for a spell in 2001.”

The film that was ultimately produced over a decade later under the screenplay’s original title and released by Lionsgate Premiere concerned Joe Merriwether (Morgan), an FBI agent saddled with solving a series of bizarre serial murders which find the killer’s victims having been painlessly dispatched with a clean puncture into their medulla oblongata. Partnered with Agent Katherine Cowles (Cornish) and failing to find any usable leads, Merriwether turns to longtime friend John Clancy (Hopkins), a reclusive psychic still reeling from losing his daughter to leukemia. After initially refusing to help, Clancy throws himself into the case when another murder is carried out, using his abilities to suss out a surprising motive for the killer: the victims have all been terminally ill, with the killer seeing his deeds as mercy killings meant to save his prey from their eventual suffering.

Anthony Hopkins as John Clancy in ‘Solace’ (2015)

A cat-and-mouse game ensues between Clancy and the killer, revealed to be Charles Ambrose (Farrell), who employs far more powerful psychic abilities to both choose his victims and stay one step ahead of the police. When a setup Ambrose orchestrated initiates a shootout with another murderer that claims Merriwether’s life, Clancy and Cowles carry on the investigation and discover Ambrose’s true endgame: for Clancy to carry on his work once he’s gone. A climactic chase ensues, culminating in a final showdown aboard a subway train which sees Ambrose, revealed to have a terminal illness himself, gunned down by Clancy to save Cowles’ life.

The film ends with Clancy reuniting with his estranged wife, just before a flashback provides a shocking revelation: Clancy had euthanized his cancer-afflicted daughter to end her suffering, effectively committing a mercy killing not unlike all of Ambrose’s murders. The movie concludes on an ambiguous note, leaving audiences to wonder if Clancy might indeed pick up Ambrose’s work in his stead.

Before the film was eventually realized in 2015, there was the brief but highly-discussed possibility that the screenplay was going to be retooled as a continuation of the Andrew Kevin Walker-penned Se7en. Rumors abounded in the early aughts that Morgan Freeman was meant to reprise his character of Detective Lieutenant William Somerset from that 1995 film, and that he may have displayed psychic abilities in the follow-up. “In truth, the notion of turning Solace into a Se7en sequel was pretty short-lived,” Mr. Griffin notes. “The concept was to change ‘Merriwether’ (ultimately played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) into ‘Somerset’ (Morgan Freeman’s character [from Se7en]).” This revelation corrects the long-held assumption that Freeman’s character would have suddenly developed psychic powers for the sequel.

Mr. Griffin continues: “I think Sean and I had one meeting with the New Line execs where we discussed how to pitch it to Morgan Freeman, but that meeting never came about. There was a rumor that David Fincher had called Freeman and talked him out of pursuing it, but David has never confirmed or denied that to me. I think Sean and I felt at the time that the movie would at the very least get critically lambasted if it was presented as a sequel to Se7en, but it was New Line’s dime.

Morgan Freeman as William Somerset in ‘Se7en’ (1995)

“I parted ways with the project around then – early 2002, I think. There were a number of directors attached and unattached over the years – Tarsem [Singh], Paul Verhoeven, Gary Fleder, if memory serves. I know Sean Bailey did further rewriting when Bruce Willis was attached as Clancy. Later, Jamie Vanderbilt (Truth, Zodiac) did a draft, and Peter Morgan (The Crown) came on to write a scene or two at Tony Hopkins’ request.”

So did the final film accurately represent the original vision from that early screenplay? “It’s now twenty-five years since I co-wrote, so it’s hard to remember exactly what the original vision was anymore. And, to be perfectly honest, I’ve only seen the movie once, in an unfinished form, on an editing bay.”

In closing out our discussion of this particular project, Mr. Griffin offers his thoughts on the potential retitling of Solace to Ei8ht, had it become a Se7en sequel: “This is the first I’ve ever heard of that, so I presume that’s just a rumor.”

Very special thanks to Ted Griffin for his time and insights.