The concept of H.G. Wells' 1896 novel THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU has been brought to the screen many times over the years, the first feature adaptation being the 1932 film ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, which starred Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. With the story receiving an upswing of attention recently thanks to the documentary LOST SOUL, about the disastrous production of the 1996 adaptation that starred Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, it's not surprising that there's talk of a new take on the material being in the works. In the age of successful TV shows like THE WALKING DEAD, BATES MOTEL, and AMERICAN HORROR STORY, it's also not surprising that the venue for this new adaptation will be television.
Phillip Iscove, co-creator of Fox's SLEEPY HOLLOW series, has secured a deal with CBS to write and, with Frank Marshall and Robert Zotnowski, executive produce a show entitled MOREAU for the network.
Dr. Moreau, a character who has previously been played by the likes of Laughton, Brando, Burt Lancaster, and Paul Naschy, among others, will be a female character in CBS and Iscove's version:
“Moreau” will follow the “fiercely intelligent and fearless” Dr. Katherine Moreau, who expands the boundaries of medicine through revolutionary scientific experimentation and treatments in her privately funded island hospital.
I'm not sure how the idea of a doctor creating human/animal hybrids on an island will be able to sustain a series, but I'm curious enough to check the show out when or if it reaches the air.
Barbara Carrera in THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (1977)