Deadline reports that Netflix has acquired the movie rights to Old Man’s War, the first novel in John Scalzi’s space opera series of the same name. While previously in development over the last decade as a movie with Paramount and then as a television series with Syfy, the novel has now found a home at Netflix as an original film.
“Netflix is a place where a lot of fantastic entertainment is happening these days,” Scalzi said in a post announcing the news on his website. “It’s trying a lot of things and taking a lot of chances, and most people I know who are working with Netflix are thrilled about being there right now. It really seems like it could be a great place for the OMW universe.”
If you haven’t yet read Old Man’s War, here’s the synopsis for the Hugo-nominated novel, Scalzi’s debut:
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.
The good news is that humanity finally made it to the stars. The bad news is that, out there, planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
Responsible for protecting humanity, the Colonial Defense Force doesn’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth, never to return. You’ll serve two years in combat. And if you survive, you’ll be given a homestead of your own on a hard-won planet light-years from home.
John Perry is taking that deal. He thinks he knows what to expect. But the actual fight is far, far harder than he can imagine—and what he will become is far stranger.
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Old Man’s War
Scalzi will serve as executive producer on the project alongside production companies Jon Shestack Productions (Before I Fall) and Madhouse Entertainment (Prisoners, Slender Man). His post includes more insights into how this adaptation came to be, and proactively answers a few reader questions, including about the potential for adapting the other five books in the series:
But can a two to three hour movie truly hold the vastness and complexity of Old Man’s War?
I mean, yeah. It’s a pretty speedy story in that first book. And as to the rest of the universe of the series, if the first OMW movie works and people watch it and like it (hint, hint), we can have sequels. There are six books! We have lots to work with.
I’m not sure if I’m more scared of it being faithful or faithless.
A movie is too fast! I prefer a television series.
@@@@@LordVorless
I know how you feel… The book is good in idea, so-so in execution.
Get really good writers, and you could have great film.
I’m 60+ years old and I have been an avid reader since my pre-teens days. I have always been very disappointed in book to movie adaptions. I have come to believe that the mediums are so different in nature that it makes it VERY hard to turn a good book into a good movie. There was one exception to this and that was Lord of the Rings, I thought Jackson did a great job of putting the essence of the story and the characters in the book onto the big screen.
So even if this does finally make it to the movies I won’t be expecting much.
Looking forward to it. Although it would have been nice to have it turned into a series, I’m all for seeing a good movie adaptation. Hopefully this time it will be done.
All I can say is YAY!
And
It’s about time!
Let’s hope the director
1. has read the novel
2. is a fan
3. really knows what he is doing
Netflix has been pretty good with its other titles so there is that going for it.
Yes, series not a movie. And go talk to those guys working on The Expanse. Their series may not be 100% faithful to the novels, but damn they know how put together a great television series.
Movie vs. a series will always be the start of the conversation but can there not be certain books that cannot support a series? I keep expecting this conversation about “The Culture” which, to me, could be the beginning of something new.
this is great news
I just finished the book and it kept on playing as a movie in my head. It should work. I’m just ambivalent about Netflix picking it up. I’m not sure if they have a big enough budget to do it justice. It would’ve been better if one of the major studios did it, like Paramount… Anyway, I’m still going to watch it.
I have been reading Redshirts and love his style of writing. Going to borrow Old Man’s War series tomorrow and venture into this universe. Can’t wait!
If it is 4 or 5 1 hour episodes, that should be enough
I just hope they avoid the scientific mistake that was done when the author decided to make his characters green as a way to survive without food if the situation should require it (I don’t consider it as spoiler partly because it is revealed very early in the novel, and partly because it will be revealed in a potential spoiler anyway). Some facts from an article on the net:
“Why can’t humans photosynthesise?
The answer lies in considering the energy budget of a large active multicellular animal such as a human being. Every day an adult human requires its own body weight in a molecule called ATP, which stores the chemical energy released from the oxidation of glucose.
To produce roughly 60kg of ATP, a typical adult woman therefore requires around 700g of glucose per day. Given the maximum known rates of photosynthesis in higher plants and assuming that the surface area of an adult woman’s skin is around 1.6 m2, a woman with green skin could produce a highly disappointing 1% of her daily demand for glucose through photosynthesis. So to meet her energy demands, a photosynthesising woman would have to have a lot more skin. Indeed, roughly a tennis court’s worth.”
You have a typo during the summary of the book, you typed two years when the book says ten.