John Milton's PARADISE LOST – a revisionist take on the fall of Satan from Heaven – is one of those seminal, iconic works that Hollywood has been desperate to turn into a film, but just can never crack it. The closest they came was in 2012, when Alex Proyas (THE CROW) tried to make an epic version with Bradley Cooper as the aforementioned Satan. When this fell through, Proyas took on Egyptian gods instead in GODS OF EGYPT (and we all know how that turned out).
Anyway, it seems that Martin Freeman (of HOBBIT and SHERLOCK fame) is working with Fremantle-backed indie Dancing Ledge Productions to create a TV series based on this iconic piece of literature, which is being described as "a biblical Games of Thrones transporting the reader into an internecine world of political intrigue and incredible violence. At stake? The future of mankind."
Well count me in! I love the story, and while I don't subscribe to any religion, I am always fascinated by their stories (well, the good ones anyway). And, admittedly, PARADISE LOST isn't even really religious (in the sense that is not canonical to the Bible itself, and is pretty much 17th century fan-fiction), so it should give the show license to go crazy with the material. Freeman even mentioned in an interview (where he said he's considering the Satan role) that "Paradise Lost is epic, exciting and surprisingly modern. And maybe, for the first time, the devil gets all the best tunes!" which means, will this Devil be listening to literally modern music, like the Rolling Stones or Diecide or…something that isn't decades old because I don't listen to music anymore? I guess only time will tell.
Anyway, what do you Schmoes think? You down for a Bible-infused GAME OF THRONES knock-off? Either way, sound off below!
Right now, the producers are shopping the show around, so no official release date at this time. But we'll keep you posted!
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