Michael Brandt has announced that he will be directing a film adaptation of the Twilight Zone episode ‘Death Ship’, named Countdown.
Originally written by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, Duel), the episode tells the story of three astronauts who arrive at an alien world, only to find their own bodies in a crashed replica of their vessel. “Countdown is fantastic because it wraps the themes of fate and predestination in a movie that is really a giant puzzle (that will also) be fun for the audience to piece together,” Brandt said on the adaptation, although he is also aware of the various pitfalls associated with taking on a classic such as the Twilight Zone. “The updates that are successful – not just of this but of any of the great 1950s Sci-Fi concepts – are those that take the idea and bring a modern sensibility to it. When it misses sometimes, it’s because people get caught up in the story from start to finish.”
This will be Brandt’s directorial debut, which he is co-writing with Derek Haas. The pair have authored successful scripts in the past, including 3:10 To Yuma and the upcoming film Wanted.
