When it comes to adapting dystopian Young Adult sci-fi novels for the screen, Lionsgate currently rule the roost with two blockbuster franchises in The Hunger Games and Divergent. Fox, however, remain keen to get in on the act. They've already got The Maze Runner successfully underway, and are now looking to add Steelheart, based on the book series recently begun by Brandon Sanderson. Carter Blanchard (Independence Day 2) taking a crack at the screenplay, and Shawn Levy is producing and may direct (making it a Real Steelheart?).
Sanderson is a prolific fantasy author, boasting any number of his own series, and the completion of The Wheel Of Time following the death of Robert Jordan. Steelheart was published in 2013, and sets up a society in which super-beings are the bad guys.
These "Epics" received their superpowers in a freak natural event, but decided to use them to rule and enslave, creating a world where there are only supervillains and no superheroes. Resistance comes in the form of the Reckoners: ordinary humans dedicated to finding the Achilles Heels of the Epics and assassinating them. Our protagonist is David, who wants to join the Reckoners due to a personal grudge against the Epics' ultra-baddie: the titular Steelheart himself.
Daria Cerek will join Levy in overseeing the project for Fox, along with Will Rack of production company 21 Laps (Story Of Your Life, Fist Fight). With the writing only just begun, there's no start date yet, but if, when it comes to it, Steelheart is a success, there are already more places for sequels to go: part two, Firefight, was published this year. Both instalments are available in the UK from Gollancz.
from Empire News
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