TV
Greg Kinnear in Talks to Lead New “War of the Worlds” Small Screen Adaptation
French pay-TV powerhouse Canal Plus and Fox’s Europe and Africa arm are joining forces on a series adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic novel “The War of the Worlds,“ the show set to follow the classic alien-invasion story but set the action in the present day. Variety reports today that Greg Kinnear is now in talks for the show’s leading role.
The site notes, “Kinnear is understood to have seen a script but not signed on yet for the series as talks continue. Sources close to the project indicated that interest is being sounded out with a variety of talent ahead of full production getting underway in 2019.”
The eight-part adaptation was created and written by Howard Overman (“Merlin”). Overman says the new take on the material will be “bold, fresh and relatable.”
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is reteaming with Starz on a TV series adaptation of supernatural crime graphic novel Bone Parish, Deadline reports.
Diane Ademu-John (Dune: Prophecy) and Declan de Barra (The Witcher: Blood Origin) will co-showrun the project and executive produce.
The show’s logline reads: “In the dark underworld of New Orleans, the Winters family builds an empire around a powerful new drug—crafted from the ashes of the dead—that grants users vivid, haunting visions of the past. But as demand surges, rival factions, deadly secrets, and supernatural forces close in, pulling them deeper into a violent and inescapable nightmare of crime, horror, and family legacy.”
The graphic novel by writer Cullen Bunn (The Empty Man) and artist Jonas Scharf was published by BOOM! Studios; the publisher’s Stephen Christy and Mette Norkjaer will executive produce.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories that break the mold, and Bone Parish does exactly that. It takes crime, family, and power, and mixes it with something dark and supernatural, in a way that feels fresh. Exploring what happens when the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead, this story has incredible depth, and we’re building a series that’s going to keep audiences locked in from the first episode,” Jackson said in a statement.
“We love going on new journeys with Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, and this one is unlike anything we’ve done before: a world steeped in horror and the supernatural, but still grounded in the family and crime storytelling our audience can’t get enough of. It’s a wild, bold swing, and exactly the kind of risk we want to be taking,” said Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming at Starz.
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