Those of you who have been fortunate enough to read Justin Cronin’s epic The Passage trilogy will no doubt have been keeping an eye on things ever since Ridley Scott became attached to it’s big-screen adaptation. Telling the centuries-spanning story of the human race becoming overrun by vampires (it’s far better than we’re making it sound), we’ve been dreaming of how it would look on the screen, and now it looks like we’ll get that wish.
Even so, there has been a change. Firstly, it’s now being earmarked for a TV series instead of the cinema. Secondly, it now has a showrunner and director for the pilot episode, with Elizabeth Heldens (previously a producer on the likes of Deception, Friday Night Lights, Love Bites and Prime Suspect USA) helming the series and overseeing things, and Matt Reeves being picked to direct the pilot episode.
Judging by what we know about everyone envolved, these additions can generally be counted as good things. As legendary as he is, Scott’s involvement isn’t necessarily an indicator of quality (he executive produces everything nowadays), but anyone who’s seen the excellent Friday Night Lights will testify that Heldens is a safe pair of hands, and Reeves an equally solid choice of director, having proven his capacity for taming movie monsters via Cloverfield and Let Me In.
With two follow-up books existing in the form of The Twelve and The City Of Mirrors, there’s plenty of source material to work with should The Passage prove to be a successful series – which we dearly hope it is. The creators have got a job on their hands when it comes to casting (young lead Amy should be especially challenging), but even so, we can’t wait to see what happens.
The Passage will air on Fox in the US at a later date. For all the latest movie news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
