It’s been a long time coming, but Fox’s TV series based on Justin Cronin’s vampire trilogy The Passage has finally been greenlit with Friday Night Lights‘ Elizabeth Heldens writing.
EW reports that the Ridley Scott-produced drama has been given the go-ahead after a lengthy adaptation process. The book was snapped up quickly (not surprising given its bestseller status, and the fact that it’s excellent), but getting a script right has been tricky. Matt Reeves (War For The Planet Of The Apes) was on board to direct a movie version back in 2011 but that didn’t work out. A pilot was shot last year, but Fox was not happy with it and decided to go back to the drawing board. There have been cast and director changes (The Exorcist‘s Jason Ensler ended up helming the pilot), and now it’s ready to go.
The Passage “is an epic, character-driven thriller about a secret government medical facility experimenting with a dangerous virus that could either cure all disease or cause the downfall of the human race. The series focuses on a 10-year-old girl named Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), who is chosen to be a test subject for this experiment, and Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), the federal agent who becomes her surrogate father as he tries to protect her.”
In addition to Gosselaar and Sidney, The Passage also stars Vincent Piazza as Clark Richards, Brianne Howey as Shauna Babcock, Jamie McShane as Dr. Tim Fanning, Caroline Chikezie as Dr. Major Nichole Sykes and Emmanuelle Chriqui as Dr. Lila Kyle.
Now, if we could just get some good news about The Exorcist…
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