Alexander Skarsgard of Succession, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Northman is set to star in the ten-episode sci-fi series Murderbot, which has just been picked up by 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.
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. According to Deadline, the project first received a “blinking green light”, but the casting process was disrupted by the lengthy strikes (writers and actors) that hit Hollywood this year. Now the strikes are over, Skarsgard has been cast, and Murderbot is moving forward.
The show 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 Murderbot sound interesting to you, and have you read any of The Murderbot Diaries? What do you think of Alexander Skarsgard being cast as an android who takes dangerous assignments and likes to watch soap operas? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
In addition to About a Boy, the Weitz brothers have worked on – sometimes separately, sometimes going solo – the likes of Antz, American Pie, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Down to Earth, The Golden Compass, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, A Better Life, Cinderella, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Mountain Between Us, Operation Finale, Pinocchio, The Creator, In Good Company, American Dreamz, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Little Fockers, Being Flynn, Admission, Grandma, Bel Canto, Fatherhood, and Moving On.