Tasked by the BBC to write a six part television serial in 1953, Nigel Kneale crafted a story called The Quatermass Experiment, named after its lead character, rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass. In that story, the first manned flight into space returns with a dangerous alien lifeform on board and Quatermass has to stop the creature from destroying all life on our planet.
That serial wasn't the last time Quatermass had to save us from aliens. From 1953 to 1979 there were four Quatermass adventures produced as television serials, and three of those also got feature film adaptations.
The Quatermass franchise has been mostly dormant since '79, although the character did return in a 1995 audio drama and a remake of The Quatermass Experiment was broadcast live on the BBC in 2005.
Now Quatermass is set to come back in major way, as Legendary Entertainment is teaming with Hammer Films to bring a new QUATERMASS movie to the big screen.
David Farr, writer of the movie HANNA and the upcoming Amazon series based on it, is writing the screenplay for the new QUATERMASS. The film will be produced by Hammer's Simon Oakes, with Jon Silk and Jay Ashenfelter overseeing the project for Legendary.
I have seen some Quatermass here and there, and have been meaning to dig deeper into the franchise. This project being announced gives me the push I've been needing to start learning more about Bernard Quatermass and the threats he has saved us from.
I know John Carpenter was a big fan of the Quatermass stories, that's why he hired Kneale to write the initial script for HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. When he learned that his script was going to be getting a rewrite, Kneale chose to have his name removed from the film.
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