Gunpowder & Sky’s sci-fi label Dust is currently in the process of developing a new series adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau, based on H.G. Wells’ 1896 classic novel of the same name. Set to be titled Moreau, the project is being described as a modern take on the sci-fi novel that centers around an Englishman named Edward Prendick who, after being shipwrecked, finds himself mysteriously transported onto an island where a mad scientist creates human-like creatures.
“Zack took a time-honored classic and brought it into the 21st century,” SVP, for Gunpowder & Sky, Eric Bromberg said in a statement (via Deadline).“Together, we’re creating a story that’s scarily befitting of today’s world, filled with seemingly limitless, and oftentimes alarming, scientific advancements. Frankenstein and Doudna have nothing on Jessica Moreau.”
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Moreau will follow the story of a world-renowned scientist Dr. Jessica Moreau, whose pioneering work in genetic engineering catches the eye of a billionaire backer willing to stop at nothing to reach the next step of human evolution. The series will be written by X-Men: First Class scribe Zack Stentz.
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“The double helix wasn’t even a twinkle in Watson & Crick’s eye when H.G. Wells first wrote The Island of Dr. Moreau, but his 1896 novel proved astonishingly prescient about how unlocking the secrets of DNA would open the door to humanity playing God with the natural world in strange and frightening ways,” Stentz said. “And now, in the shadow of the CRISPR revolution, it felt like the perfect time to revisit Moreau and bring it into our own 21st Century world of transgenic animals, designer babies and other scientific advances Wells never could have dreamed of. I’m delighted to be working with Eric, Geoff & the Gunpowder & Sky team to welcome a whole new generation to the good doctor’s terrifying island.”
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Although this marks the first time that The Island of Dr. Moreau will be adapted into a series, the sci-fi novel has actually had previous film adaptations including director John Frankenheimer’s 1996 film of the same name which starred Marlon Brando, Van Kilmer, David Thewlis, and Fairuza Balk.
