Vertigo Films is looking to turn Gareth Edwards' directorial debut feature MONSTERS into a television series for UK broadcaster Channel 4. According to Deadline Hollywood, TOP BOY creator Ronan Bennett will serve as showrunner with on-the-rise British scribes Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith on writing duties.
The project is currently in its developmental phase with Channel 4 in the UK, courtesy of head of international drama Simon Maxwell. Plans are for the producers to lock down a major U.S. partner while negotiating with broadcasters and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon to host the new series. With all of that in mind, Channel 4 is hoping to launch MONSTERS in a similar fashion to Philip K. Dick's ELECTRIC DREAMS adaptation, which is poised to debut on Amazon.
The 2010 Vertigo-released film is a slow-burn sci-fi thriller that follows an American photojournalist (Scoot McNairy), who is tasked with escorting his boss' daughter (Whitney Able), back to the United States by traversing an infected zone teeming with ferocious creatures in Mexico.
For the moment, it remains unclear as to how much involvement Edwards will have with the forthcoming television project. While waiting for more details, fans will have to place their faith in the very capable hands of Duncan and Smith, who've been hard at work writing an impressive list of programs such as RUN starring THE NIGHT MANAGER'S Olivia Colman, Lennie James and Jaime Winstone. The duo also recently sold their original sci-fi pitch RED STAR to Warner Bros.
It's been a long time since I've seen MONSTERS, however, I do recall thinking that the film was quite compelling. How Duncan and Smith will expand upon the material enough to warrant creating an entire series around it remains to be seen, though I'm certain there are plenty of political angles to explore as well as the reason for there being so many horrific beasts lurking within the fog.