I hope you're up for taking an island vacation in the near future because Gunpowder & Sky's sci-fi label, DUST, just announced that they're developing Moreau, a twisted TV series that puts a modern spin on the classic novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells. The upcoming series hails from the pen of Zack Stentz, whose previous works include projects like X-MEN FISR CLASS, THOR, RIM OF THE WORLD, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Per Gunpowder & Sky's official press release:
Moreau focuses on world-renowned scientist Dr. Jessica Moreau, whose pioneering work in genetic engineering catches the eye of a billionaire backer willing to stop at nothing to reach the next step of human evolution.
The double helix wasn’t even a twinkle in Watson & Crick’s eye when H.G. Wells first wrote ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’, but his 1896 novel proved astonishingly prescient about how unlocking the secrets of DNA would open the door to humanity playing God with the natural world in strange and frightening ways,” said Stentz. “And now, in the shadow of the CRISPR revolution, it felt like the perfect time to revisit Moreau and bring it into our own 21st Century world of transgenic animals, designer babies and other scientific advances Wells never could have dreamed of. I'm delighted to be working with Eric, Geoff & the Gunpowder & Sky team to welcome a whole new generation to the good doctor's terrifying island.
“Zack took a time-honored classic and brought it into the 21st century,” said Eric Bromberg, SVP, Gunpowder & Sky. “Together, we’re creating a story that’s scarily befitting of today’s world, filled with seemingly limitless, and oftentimes alarming, scientific advancements. Frankenstein and Doudna have nothing on Jessica Moreau.”
“This series gives us a chance to work with Zack, one of the most prolific writers in the business,” said Geoffrey James Clark, Executive Producer, Gunpowder & Sky. “We couldn’t have genetically engineered a better writer for this project and can’t wait to take sci-fi fans on a wild ride with Zack driving.”
Initially published in 1896, Wells' novel became a shining beacon of inspiration for would-be authors looking to dabble in the realm of science-fiction. The book has been adapted into several projects throughout the years including the 1977 film directed by Don Taylor and starring Burt Lancaster and Michael York. Later in 1996, Edward R. Pressman helmed a version of the story starring Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk, and Ron Perlman. Good grief, I can still recall seeing Pressman's version in theaters and thinking that it was one of the most bizarre movies I'd seen up until that point. From what I can gather, Pressman's version was a chore to bring to the silver screen. The film's original director, Richard Stanley, had dropped off of the project, while the production was also plagued with extreme weather conditions and unrest from the cast. There's a documentary that details all of this and more titled Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau. If production drama is your bag, maybe check it out.
What do you think of this project? Are you ready to return to the island of Dr. Moreau? What alterations do you think will be made to the story to give it a new edge? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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