A couple months ago, we learned that Alexander Skarsgard of Succession, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Northman had signed on to star in the ten-episode sci-fi series Murderbot, which is set up at Apple TV+. (Despite sharing a title with a recently released movie from Full Moon and director Jim Wynorski, this project is actually based on Martha Wells’ bestselling, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series The Murderbot Diaries.) Now Deadline reports that David Dastmalchian of The Suicide Squad, the Ant-Man series, and the upcoming horror film Late Night with the Devil is joining Skarsgard in the cast. Dastmalchian will be playing a character named Gurathin.
The sibling duo of Chris and Paul Weitz (About a Boy) are writing, directing, and executive producing Murderbot under their Depth of Field banner. Andrew Miano is also executive producing for Depth of Field, while David S. Goyer executive produces alongside Keith Levine for Phantom Four. Wells is on board as consulting producer.
Coming our way from Paramount Television Studios, Murderbot is aiming to be action-packed. The 10-episode series will introduce viewers to a self-hacking security android (Skarsgard) who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable “clients.” Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.
Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries series currently consists of seven novels and a few short stories. The novels have the following titles: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse.
Does this Murderbot series sound interesting to you, and have you read any of The Murderbot Diaries? What do you think of Alexander Skarsgard and David Dastmalchian sharing the screen in a show about an android who takes dangerous assignments and likes to watch soap operas? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
David Dastmalchian is one of my favorite actors, so I count it as good news anytime I see his name come up in connection to a new project.