There’s finally a winner to the bidding war against studios for the rights to David Cronenberg‘s Scanners. And that only means one thing – a new television series based on the science fiction property is now in development.
The original film focused on a group of individuals known as “scanners”. These people were capable of telekinetic powers and were being hunted down in a futuristic society. It’s just the perfect setup for a TV series in a world where science fiction is endlessly being rebooted and distributed on both television and in theaters.
According to Deadline, the film will be adapted for the small screen by Media Res Studios and Bron Studios. They’re currently looking for a high-end filmmaker and showrunner before they send the series to streaming services.
Media Rea is headed by Micheal Ellenberg who’s responsible for developing Westworld, Big Little Lies, and True Detective. Meanwhile Bron Studios developed films such as The Birth of a Nation and Fences.
Aside from Ellenberg, the series will also be produced by Pierre David, one of the producers of the original film. They will be joined by Rene Malo and Fanny Laura Malo, who represent the rights holders Laurem Productions.
It’s definitely exciting to see a new return to the world of Scanners, which has since delved into an endless string of low-budget sequels and obscurity. Unfortunately the series does lack David Cronenberg – the original film’s director that gave Scanners its disturbing sense of bodyhorror and darkness. Hopefully the new developers will find a director that can match his style with their own.