Metropolis TV series from Sam Esmail ordered by Apple

In just a few short years, we’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fritz Lang’s classic science fiction film Metropolis, but the story is set to get the small-screen treatment from Sam Esmail. It’s been reported that Apple TV have given a series order to an adaptation of Metropolis from the Mr. Robot creator.

The Metropolis TV series will be written and directed entirely by Sam Esmail, who has actually been working on the project for quite some time. It was first announced that Esmail would be developing a Metropolis adaptation over five years ago and while plot details continue to be kept under wraps, it’s expected that the series will be similar to the original film. “The small-screen adaptation will take place in a future society where wealthy industrialists rule the vast city from high-rise tower complexes, while a lower class of underground-dwelling workers toil constantly to operate the machines that provide its power,” reads a 2016 description. “Risking everything they know, two star crossed lovers from opposite sides of the divide must find a way to bring down the whole system.“

Based on the novel by Thea Von Harbou, the original 1927 film was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master.

Sam Esmail’s next project will be Gaslit, a limited-series for Starz which tells the insane but shockingly true story of the Watergate scandal from a different perspective. A nearly unrecognizable Sean Penn stars as Attorney General John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon’s most trusted advisor and best friend, with Julia Roberts also starring as John’s whistleblower wife Martha Mitchell. Gaslit will debut on Starz on April 24, 2022.