For about a decade, Leonardo DiCaprio was attached to produce a big screen reboot of the classic genre property The Twilight Zone through his company Appian Way. Multiple drafts of the script were written and Joseph Kosinski was set to direct the film… but it never made it into production. The Twilight Zone got a small screen reboot from producer Jordan Peele and his company Monkeypaw Productions instead. But DiCaprio isn’t leaving the Twilight Zone behind entirely, as IndieWire reports that he is now producing a documentary about the show’s creator, Rod Serling!
Appian Way is teaming up with Goodlight, Grub Street Films, and Verdi Productions to make this documentary happen. DiCaprio is producing alongside Chad A. Verdi, Jennifer Davisson, Phillip Watson, Taylor DiGilio, Blake J. Harris, Michelle Verdi, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, and Jonah Tulis. Tulis, who previously directed GameStop: Rise of the Players and Console Wars, is at the helm. According to the IndieWire report, the producers “have received the full blessing of Serling’s daughters Jodi Serling and Anne Serling, who are executive producing the project.”
The Serling documentary will explore how Serling’s writing helped change television forever. The film will look at Serling’s humble beginnings in television and how he later used his platform to affect change both on and off the screen, including his battles with censors and how he grappled with thought provoking issues of racism, war, the dangers of technology, and morality via the genre-bending, sci-fi parables. But the Serling film will also be told in “his own words,” leaning on archival footage — provided by his estate — to have his own voice helping to guide the story. The film will also have re-enactments of moments of his life shot in black and white in the style of The Twilight Zone.
Jennifer Davisson provided the following statement: “We are excited to dive into the life of such a visionary who understood the role storytelling plays in pushing and challenging societal norms. Equipped with a vast and extensive collection of archival footage, we hope to capture the essence of a man who used The Twilight Zone so poignantly to drive social and political change.“
Chad A. Verdi added, “We are very excited to collaborate with Appian Way and provide an inside look on Rod Serling’s story with a personal narrative and footage that audiences have never seen before. This documentary will be the first of several projects that we plan on producing with this team.“
The Twilight Zone originally ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964. Serling was a prolific writer outside of the show he created as well, writing for many TV shows and TV movies. He also worked on the scripts for multiple films, including the original Planet of the Apes. He passed away in 1975, at the age of 50.
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