Richard K. Morgan’s 2002 debut science-fiction novel, Altered Carbon was simply one of the best and most original stories I’ve read over the last few years. It felt like the three-way love child of Mickey Spillane, Alastair Reynolds and that homeless guy down at the local 7-eleven who screams at the fairies nesting in his skull and reeks suspiciously of turpentine.
And now it appears that it may be bringing it’s futuristic brand of crazy to the big screen.
The film rights were initially snapped up for a cool $1 million by director Joel Schumacher and Warner Bros soon after the novel was released, but he didn’t do much with it for a few years. I’m guessing that he was still suffering from PBSD – Post Batman Stress Disorder – and just couldn’t face another story that most likely would involve neon lights. Then in 2007 it was rumoured that WB wanted James McTeigue (V For Vendetta, Ninja Assassin, The Raven) to helm the film instead, but once again, not much transpired.
Now the rights have passed onto Mythology Entertainment, who it appears is actually not in the business of buying something and then not doing anything with it. Mythology was formed last year by producer Bradley J. Fischer as well writers/producers Laeta Kalogridis and James Vanderbilt. Kalogridis will now be penning the adaptation of Morgan’s novel. Her previous writing credits include Shutter Island, Pathfinder, Alexander and Night Watch.
Here’s the official blurb for the novel from the publisher:
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eighty light-years from home, re-sleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats “existence” as something that can be bought and sold. For Kovacs, the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning.
Thus far no other info exists with regards to proposed release date.
Last Updated: February 14, 2012
James Francis
February 14, 2012 at 12:22
About time! The novel reads like a movie, so it really should be one. Even more than Snowblind.