Cary Fukunaga (Maniac, Beasts of No Nation) and David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon, Peter Man) will be writing a TV pilot script for Paramount Television based on Joe Dante’s 1985 film Explorers, Deadline has confirmed.
Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix starred in the original coming-of-age sci-fi feature. The film is about a boy obsessed with ’50s sci-fi aliens movies who has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind. He draws it for his inventor friend and with the help of a third pal, they end up building a spaceship. The outlet notes that this will be the basis for the series.
If the pilot is picked up, either Fukunaga or Lowery will direct. Fukunaga and Hayden Kiessling of Parliament of Owls will executive produce alongside Lowery, James Johnston, and Toby Halbrooks of Sailer Bear Prods and the movie’s original screenwriter Erik Luke.
Fukunaga won the 2014 Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on HBO’s True Detective. He is also known for writing the It movie adaptation, Beasts of No Nation, Netflix’s Maniac, and will be directing Bond 25. Fukunaga will also be executive producing The Alienist’s next installment The Angel of Darkness for TNT.
Lowery’s recent writing and directing credits include A Ghost Story, The Old Man & the Gun, Pete’s Dragon, and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. His latest screenplay, the live-action adaptation of Peter Pan, is currently in pre-production, which Lowery will also direct.
