Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy deserves a good adaptation, rather than that trash movie and that too short BBC series.
The BBC series was brilliant.
Agreed, just too short.
I would love that, I dont think the movie is terrible, its just that everything after Ford and Arthur get thrown out the airlock isnt as funny or absurd as the books. The main issue is the first 2ish books are unadaptable because there is no central conflict (or arleast the main cast dosent care or know there was supposed to be one).
Zaphod is the only person with motivation to do anything other than to continue existing, and he is unaware (or dosen’t care) he is being hunted until they meet those suprisingly progessive law enforcment officers on Magrathea and when he visits the guides publishing offices.
Zaphod’s 2 heads were the biggest let down of the movie.
And it should be of the first three books, not just the first book.
The BBC series does up to them being on >!prehistoric hairdresser and middle management earth!< Iirc
Which I’m pretty sure is the third book. But I haven’t read it in a loooooong time.
Wha… really? I’ve seen the BBC HHGTTG, but I’ve never even heard they did the sequels!
Book 2 was Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and book 3 was Life, the Universe, and Everything.
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Hyperion Cantos.
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Neuromancer.
For being what I would consider one of the founding fathers of cyberpunk, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a Neuromancer film yet. Especially when so many of the tropes we know from the cyberpunk genre originated from Neuromancer, to begin with.
The question is do they stick with the existing Johnny Mnemonic movie as the prequel story, recap it in an intro scene, or ignore it completely?
Neuromancer has been optioned before but no one did anything with it. I think it was in play again but recently but haven’t heard much lately.
Hyperion Cantos would be great.
Gormanghast might also be cool.
https://www.theverge.com/24086056/apple-tv-plus-neuromancer-streaming-series-william-gibson
Neuromancer Might be getting made.
Watch Inception and think of Neuromancer and you will find that its probably the best closest match for the way the story is told. So many things made me realize there are so many little “I loved that story but I cant make that movie so I will just give you clues”. The throwing star is the top.
The first book seems ideal for a mini series
An anthology-like mini series where each episode deals with one pilgrim and is written and directed by different people. As many different styles as there are pilgrims, just like how the book is written. Would translate very well to screen IMO.
Exactly!
I think neuromancer is being done? Maybe it’s something else tho I forget
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Every single thing Brandon Sanderson ever wrote
The graphic audiobooks are pretty great already. Would love some visuals to go with it. Would need a big budget though…
Similarly, I’m reading through the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks and I think it would be a great candidate for an adaptation. It’s a really good story and the magic is all based on the colour of light which I think would make the special effects pretty easy to create and should also look nice.
I know I recognise the name Brent Weeks, and I know I remember a magic system based around colour. Does that book start with someone who brings his cloak to life with colour magic? And as you get more magically powerful, you can see more and richer colours?
No, that’s another Brandon Sanderson book called Warbreaker.
Lightbringer has people who can do magic, but you have to see the colour in order to start using it. And all the colours do slightly different things as well as affect your emotions.
Lots of great world building too.
Thanks.
I’ve read Night Angel series, that’s where I know the name from. Not the sort of book I’d usually enjoy but I remember good things. I think I’ll add Lightbringer to my list of books to read :)
Always felt like that Eragon series could have been good. Too bad they never made a movie for it. Never once. I’m sure it would have been solid if they had. But they didn’t.
I feel the same way about Avatar: The Last Airbender. It would have been such an amazing movie, or perhaps even a series. But alas, they’ve never attempted it once.
Ah, it appears you have forgotten or have simply Mandela’d in from a different timeline. Allow me to refresh your memory for you in the kindest way possible:
Eragon was a 2006 dance film featuring Jeremy Irons and Ed Speeler on a ship. Some fighting is involved. And I dunno, a dragon maybe.
I think they are making an Eragon adaptation (for the first time, of course). I think Disney+ is making a series, similar to them restarting Percy Jackson.
Oh boy. Disney adaptation track record is very hit or miss. I hope they don’t mess this one up like the last adaptation.
The Iliad. Not a “take” or an “adaptation” or a “re-imagining”. Just play it straight as it is, cut out some of the monologues and replace the “throwing spears at each other” parts with swordfights.
I want to see the gods descend from Olympus to fight on the battlefield.
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi was made for this, I swear. His latest books also read a lot like movie scripts are contained therein.
Charles Stross’ Laundry series has a ton of potential too, if less Chtullu is required, I wouldn’t mind a Merchant Princes series either.
I heard rumours about Forever War being optioned at some point, but nothing came of it.
I vote for laundry series too
I had thought that some Hollywood people were talking to Scalzi about Old man’s war, but nothing ever came of it. Sad.
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and some guy who’s name is harder to remember.
An inventor uploads a schematic to the Internet for a cheap, easy-to-assemble device that lets anyone (or almost anyone) “step” into parallel earths. A nearly infinite stretch of untamed wilderness sees people abandoning the polluted, crowded, government-run Old Earth in search of new opportunities. The catch: No iron or iron alloys can “step” across, sending these new earths back to the bronze age.
Also: Zeppelins that are also reincarnated Buddhists that are also the first true machine intelligence; robot cats; libertarian communes; sapient nonhuman primates; sapient nonhuman non-primates; radioactive ziggurats; space programs to parallel moons; and grumpy survival chicks.
Stephen Baxter
The premise was better than the execution, but I’ve definitely been curious if you could use the world stepping premise in an RPG in a compelling way.
Ringworld :)
Apparently in the woks by Amazon
No shit. I’m very suprised. Some of it gets rather technical for the masses.
Don’t worry, they’ll cut that
Prolly true. Maybe we can get an extended cut for us nerds.
Announced over 3 years ago (2021) in this article that mentions Amazon Prime optioned it in 2017: Tech Advisor article about “Ringworld” on Amazon Prime
So…
So, it’s still not here :P
Sanderson’s Mistborn series could make some good film or TV. Honestly they could probably even pull off a whole cosmere MC universesque type thing… Although I think deals keep falling through because the author wants full creative control.
Although I think deals keep falling through because the author wants full creative control.
I mean looking at the ruins of the Game of Thrones franchise that David Benioff and D. B. Weiss left behind, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
Stormlight has to be an anime. Especially for the “magical girl Kaladin” memes
Pretty sure that’s a result of him seeing how Wheel of Time has been going.
Or any adaptation where they DON’T have creative control.
Any of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
There are a couple animated adaptations of some of the books, and the live-action adaptation of Hogfather is pretty good!
There’s also a Sky One live action of Color of Magic and Going Postal that are pretty solid.
Edit: Thanks Madjo!
Sky One, not BBC.
Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey. Currently doing my umpteenth read-through completely accidentally. I wanted to read one of the books then got sucked in. I’m nine books in and read several of them in one sitting, despite having read them all plenty of times.
And while I’m on the subject, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone taking about Pern online but I see mentions of Isaac Asimov every few weeks. They’re of a similar age and Pern is equally good as Isaac’s work, if not better. Grumble grumble…
I’m a lifelong pern fan, but… the immense fear of thread won’t come across well on the screen in my opinion. And thread fighting will be hard to make such that it has the same magnitude as it can in your imagination. All in all, thread is over played. It can’t be such a harrowing fight in the skies, and still be so devastating if one got through unnoticed. Cause if the fight in the skies was so hard, more would get by, and some would get missed over the years. And that is played off as the end of the world. In your imagination, that can work, but on screen, not so much. That means they would need to make some fundamental change to film it.
Canonically some gets by every time, which is why they need ground crews with flame throwers, right?
It changes based on the book and situation, honestly. Sometimes a weyr boasts than none has got through their wings for several years. Sometimes it’s just a couple of Threads. But often, whenever a character is caught outside, it’s taken to be certain death. For example
Spoiler
Menolly’s fire lizards die as they’re hatching and go out into thread
I can’t remember the book, but one punishment for murderers is to leave them outside in Threadfall to be killed
In Renegades of Pern, many of the traders die in the opening chapter despite there being dragonriders nearby
I feel like a lot of Anne McCaffrey’s writing is inconsistent and is more based on what’s good for the plot than anything else. And (at least in the early editions I own) could have done with a better proofreader. Couple of spelling mistakes, but a lot of people and dragon names changing and other consistency errors. But I still love the books, don’t get me wrong!
Yes, this. The assumption of certain death outside during threadfall, and the supposed inate fear humans have of Thread just doesn’t work. If only a few Thread get through for the ground crews, you could just run away. It falls slow enough. For books, you can get away with that. But film would need to rework Thread significantly.
You’re probably right, but I was trying to say it deserves more recognition. I don’t think it would be a good TV show either. And Eragon has put me off all dragon-related adaptations I think!
Yup. Or it would lend itself to a 3-4 season show. The CGI time would seem prohibitive thanks to the dragons, Thread, and sci-fi aspects of the story.
I would have loved Name of the Wind, but that lazy fuck Rothfuss is going the way of George Reorge Reorge Martin: he’s been promising book 3 for a decade and can’t finish it.
He wrote himself into a corner. Somehow he needs to wrap up a spiralling plot in one book…
It’s never gonna happen.
The original TSR Dragonlance D&D series from the '80s by Weis and Hickman.
At least we finally seem to be beyond people wondering why Drizzt isn’t around.
This is what I was looking for. Sure, we have a crappy animated movie, but all I have ever wanted was to see the Heroes of the Lance in real life.
Hell yes!
The Dark Tower.
Whatever that monstrosity they released a few years ago was doesn’t count.
Just the first book
Make it like Blood Meridian level creepy and violent
I would love a true to the book series of World War Z. I’m not even sure anyone involved with that movie read the book. It should be a 3 season HBO series with an episode for each persons vignette. Intros and outros of each episode has the recurring reporter meeting the person and starting his recording as they launch into their narrative of what happened. If you need more episodes, just write additional vignettes. Season 1 is the events that lead up to the outbreak, season 2 is the war itself, season 3 is the aftermath. I’m pretty sure this is what Max Brooks was writing towards. It could be amazing.
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s ideal for a series. Was terribly disappointed with that zombie movie that borrowed the name.
