The 2014 Māori action film The Dead Lands is getting a small screen adaptation courtesy of Shudder, reports NZ Herald, with an 8-part series headed to the platform in 2019.
Production has begun on the adaptation of Toa Fraser’s hit film, which “will focus on Waka Nuku Rau, a warrior who must find honour in a land ravaged by the supernatural. He is helped by a young woman named Mehe who is determined to help him with his cause.”
The series will star Te Kohe Tuhaka (6 Days, Shortland Street) who played Wirepa in the orignal film, along with fellow Kiwis Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune, The Dark Horse), Miriama Smith (Filthy Rich) and Grace Palmer (Shortland Street, Adrift) and newcomers Darneen Christian joining in the key role of Mehe and Jordi Webber in the role of Rangi.
The series is being written by the film’s screenwriter Glenn Standring, who will also serve as an executive producer. It will be directed by some of NZ’s finest talent, including Peter Meteherangi Taiko Burger and Michael Hurst.