Studios love a more extended series or connected cinematic universes these days, and Paramount is betting big on developing the ‘Ology’ novels as a cinematic franchise. There are currently 13 books out by Dugald Steer which Akiva Goldsman has been tapped to oversee the franchise and will also produce under his Weed Road banner. To put the idea together, some of the best writers in the business have been brought in for a writers room which Paramount execs Wyck Godfrey and Liz Raposo are helping to organize the overall cohesion of these creators.

So far in the room, they have:

Obviously, there’s a load of talent preparing to tackle these movies. The idea is that each writer, as well as Akiva, will pick a book from the series to bring to the table and develop a treatment combined with the visual artists who they’ll have available. The hope is that seven movies will get scripts and an interconnected storyline on top of that.

The 13 books in the series are fictional encyclopedias which run the gambit from vampires to dragons to aliens and beyond. Over 18 million copies of the books have been sold at this point, and they’ve been translated into over 40 languages. Needless to say, there is an enormous potentially built in fan base who have fond memories of reading these.

In developing the movies, the theme is a family-friendly one which will have a research institute that studies these various areas of fringe sciences that no one else believes in.

Are you looking forward to the idea of Paramount’s ‘Ology’ series? If you’ve read any of these books, do you have a specific one that you hope they adapt? Share your thoughts below!

Source: Deadline