Fans of Anne McCafferey’s Pern series rejoice.
Writer David Hayter has been tapped to adapt the first novel in the series Dragonflight for the silver screen.
Hayter penned the script for the first two X-Men movies as well as working on the script for Watchmen.
The agreement with Hayter and Benedict Carver’s Dark Hero Studios will see the science fiction/fantasy novel adapted into a feature film.
Entertainment One, which has a first-look deal with Dark Hero Studios, is to take key international territories, including Canada. Talks are ongoing to include the U.K., Benelux and Australia.
Dragonflight, the first in the Dragonriders of Pern series, features an elite group of warriors take to the skies on the backs of giant, fire-breathing, telepathic dragons to save the wondrously exotic planet of Pern from a terrifying airborne menace.
Dragonflight will be an international co-production, financed by several international distribution partners. Production is scheduled to begin early 2012. No director is currently attached.
Fans may recall that Ron Moore worked on a television adaptation of Pern between his time on Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. The project ultimately never came to fruition.
ABOUT TIME! But maybe this IS the time after the success of Avatar and the wonder of new-technology graphics, etc. If done right, “Pern” movies could be as big or bigger than Star Wars and as captivating as the Harry Potter movies.
The Pern stories are a wondrous construct capped by the Dolphin story, exploration of the far continent, discovery of the tiny dragons, a resolution of the Thread Threat and at last, the discovery of the origin of humans on Pern.
There are lots of tales to be told in McCafferey’s Pern stories. I just hope they don’t do it on the cheap and rush through these marvelous tales in search of quick bucks. “Pern” deserves the kind of commitment, patience, and attention to detail of the Tolkien and Potter stories.
Oh boy. I know this is good news but… You know how sometimes you’re really excited for something and then end up being utterly disappointed? (Terminator Salvation, that girl from Facebook, … Oh wait, too much information.) This is exciting but it seems to me that the character’s inner journeys are the foundation of the novels. I hope they don’t ignore that and turn this into a movie that’s all about dragons flaming things.
Please don’t screw this up…please don’t screw this up…Please don’t screw this up…