Cult Franchises That Should Be Adapted For TV
by Tito W. James
We’re entering an interesting time for live-action television. To be honest, the upcoming slate of TV shows looks more interesting than feature films. With works like Snowpiercer and Judge Dredd making their way to TV, it made me think about what other franchises should be adapted for TV.
Bioshock
Bioshock was game that was often referenced in the debate on whether games should be considered art. The game series managed to fuse retro-futurism, dystopian horror, and super-powered action into an unforgettable world.
The plot of the Bioshock TV series could take place before the fall of Rapture and focus on the characters of Andrew Ryan, Atlas, and Sander Cohen. Elizabeth and Booker Dewitt could also play a part considering that they have Rapture counterparts in “Burial at Sea.”
Bioshock has a rich world and characters and that’s something every good TV series needs.
Dark City
Dark City begins as a mystery about about an amnesiac murder suspect that slowly evolves into a SciFi horror story about a city ruled by psychic aliens that possess human corpses. Dark City is a cult favorite whose unique look and premise was overshadowed by the popularity of The Matrix. Now that two decades have passed, it’s the prefect time to revisit Dark City with updated VFX and a fresh storyline. After enjoying Carnival Row, I’m in the mood for more neo-noir.
Immortals
Immortals is a film I always revisit because of its visual style. It’s a great premise to explore Greek Mythology in a world analogous to 300. I’d like to see a version of The Odyssey done as a limited TV series in this style. Keep the slow-motion, limited color pallets, and over the top gore.
Reign of Fire
This is a film with a great concept that’s worth revisiting and expanding upon much like HBO did with Westworld. It would basically be The Walking Dead but with dragons. The dragons serve as an environmental obstacle that births new factions of human civilization trying to cope.
What makes a dragon-apocalypse story so interesting is that there are different types of dragons in almost every culture. Making the dragon invasion a global pandemic could offer creative opportunities to explore different dragon species and what they mean to different nations. The Western world might want to eradicate the dragons while the Eastern world might see them as sacred.
