Isaac Asimov is arguably the greatest science fiction writer of all time. His works set the ground rules for much of the genre and have inspired countless sci-fi authors and filmmakers. However, Asimov’s material has never been faithfully adapted to the big screen. Asimov’s ‘The Positronic Man’ was butchered to create the Robin Williams vehicle ‘Bicentennial Man’ and most recently, 20th Century Fox transformed ‘I, Robot’ into an all-out action flick starring Will Smith.

Now Fox is at it again with a film adaptation of Asimov’s ‘The Caves of Steel’. The futuristic murder mystery will be directed by Henry Hobson with a script from John Scott III. Hobson’s film experience to this point has been creating astounding visuals for title and credit sequences. Hobson’s most recent work can be seen on ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Rango’, and ‘Fright Night’. Scott III has worked with NASA and the US Air Force maintaining satellites including NASA’s flagship satellite that takes photos of X-ray photos in deep space.

Scott III graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Department of Cinema and Photography and has written several screenplays including “Maggie”, the story of a 16-year-old girl who is bitten and slowly transforms into a zombie. “Maggie” won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the “thriller/horror” category in 2010 and is currently being filmed with Hobson directing.

With Scott’s background, it seems like Fox may have finally found someone who can do Asimov’s ideas justice on the big screen. Will Hobson be able to make the transition from title designer to big budget director? Let’s hope so.

Below is the synopsis of ‘The Caves of Steel’ from the book notes on Amazon:

“A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history:  the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain.  Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together.  Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions.  But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer.  The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start.  Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner:  R. Daneel Olivaw.  Worst of all was that the “R” stood for robot–and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!”