‘Zombieland’ News
Looks like this is a good year for the writing team of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese as it has just been announced that they have signed on for two high profile gigs.
On the heels of the success of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’, Sony Pictures Television has decided to put into development a TV version of the hit movie ‘Zombieland’ and have hired Wernick and Reese to write for the show. That’s good news for the series as the duo scribed the original movie which was highly successful. This version of ‘Zombieland’ will be a half hour comedy keeping the same irreverent horror tone as the movie. Sony hopes to have the show premiere for the 2012/2013 season.
Writing ‘Zombieland’ as a TV series isn’t something new to Wernick and Reese as the movie actually started off as a TV pilot. In 2005, a ‘Zombieland’ script was pitched to CBS who, after asking the duo to make script changes, ultimately passed on the project. Then it went to the Syfy channel who had to pass because they financially couldn’t pull it off. That was good news for fans, as 4 years later, audiences got to see the movie version in theaters. For the past two years, the duo has been working on a sequel but if the series does come to realization, then it’s not likely a movie sequel will be made.
So what do you think? Would you watch ‘Zombieland’ on TV or do you think being on the small screen would limit the creativity that you normally could get away with on film?
‘Micronauts’ News
In other news, the duo have has also just signed on to work with J.J. Abrams on ‘Micronauts’. If you remember, yesterday Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner had stated that there were several movies the company was working on with Paramount to develop and ‘Micronauts’ was one of them. Today it was announced that Paramount has hired Wernick and Reese to scribe the screenplay with Abrams directing.
If you’re not familiar with ‘Micronauts’, it’s a line of interchangeable space toys that first appeared in the 70’s and had a comic series based around it. The ‘Micronauts’ are a team of superheroes who inhabit a microverse within the Marvel fictional universe. Marvel comic writer, Bill Mantlo, decided to construct a whole mythology around the toy after seeing his son receive one as a present.
This Hasbro related film may have a better chance in succeeding than next year’s ‘Battleship’ as it already has an established history around the toy from the comic books. And with the team of Wernick and Reese (who have already honed their comic book writing chops with ‘G.I.Joe: Retailiation’ and ‘Deadpool’) and Abrams directing, there is a chance this can become the new superhero franchise to see.
I personally don’t remember these toys but if you do, let me know what you thought about them and the prospect of them starring in a new movie!
