Not content with making American gods one of the best and weirdest shows on TV over the last few years, Neil Gaiman is sticking his fingers in a few more pies and bringing his unique sensibilities to a few more projects.
Back in the heady days of 2017, Gaiman signed a multi-year first look agreement with FremantleMedia North America and now he, along with Akiva Goldsman, will serve as non-writing executive producers who will be at the helm of an adaption of Meryvn Peake’s Gormenghast, a dark, humourous and eccentric series of novels about the inhabitants of Castle Gorenghast.
The series, published around the same time as Lord of The Rings, follows Titus Goran, the 77thEarl and reluctant heir to Gormenghast Castle. Goran has little interest in the castle and its surroundings until a kitchen boy called Steerpike begins to climb the ranks of the castle then Titus begins to protect his birthright: “There is nothing in literature like Mervyn Peake’s remarkable Gormenghast novels,” said Neil Gaiman in the official announcement from FMNA.
“They were crafted by a master, who was also an artist, and they take us to an ancient castle as big as a city, with heroes and villains and people larger than life that are impossible to forget. There is a reason why there were two trilogies that lovers of the fantasy genre embraced in the Sixties: Lord of the Rings, and the Gormenghast books. It’s an honor to have been given the opportunity to help shepherd Peake’s brilliant and singular vision to the screen.”
The BBC made an adaptation of the first two novels, Titus Groan and Gormenghast, starring Jonathan Ryhs Meyers as Steerpike way back in 2000 and now it looks like it is time for this classic series to return to the screen again.
Along with Gaiman and Goldsmith, the series will be produced by Barry Spikings, who also produced The man who fell to earth and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey: “Luminaries like Mervyn Peake and my old friend Neil Gaiman are more than good company to keep,” Goldsman said. “I am grateful to Barry Spikings for the will, and FremantleMedia for the capacity, to help us bring the sprawling glory of Gormenghast to a modern audience.”
“We are tremendously excited by the prospect of seeing the Gormenghast books realized for television,” Fabian Peake, son of Mervyn and executor of the Peake estate, said. “This venture presents a unique opportunity to explore the imagination of a multi-faceted artist.”
In addition to his EP duties on American Gods, Gaiman is also the showrunner for the forthcoming miniseries adaptation of his and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, premiering on the BBC and Amazon Video in 2019 and has a new movie releasing on May 11th, 2018 called How To Talk To Girls At Parties, based on a short story of his, which will star Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson, Matt Lucas and Joanna Scanlan and is directed by John Cameron Mitchell.
Set in 1977 at the height of punk rock, the film follows Fanning’s Zan, an alien touring the galaxy who breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon.
Source: Tor
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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