The cult 1980s sci-fi TV show V is set to become a movie franchise, as Desilu Studios have announced plans to remake the story as a ’epic tale’ for theaters in a brand new trilogy of films. In a surprise statement, the studio has teamed up with the creator of the original show Kenneth Johnson to pull a big budget movie together and reboot the brand. The show was remade recently by ABC, but this is intended to be a whole new take on the premise.
V first appeared as a miniseries on NBC in 1983, and told the story of apparently benign aliens arriving on Earth in city-sized motherships. Integrating themselves into society, they were eventually revealed as reptilian carnivores intent on dominating the planet. The original miniseries had clear parallels with occupation and resistance themes from World War II, and became a surprise hit on networks. When it aired in the UK, it even outstripped the TV ratings for the 1984 Olympics. It was followed up with another miniseries called V-The Final Battle, but then transformed into an ongoing TV series in 1984-85. It was cancelled after one season mostly due to the expense of each episode and ended on a cliffhanger. However, it remained a cult ’80s favorite and was rebooted for a 2009 TV series from ABC, which featured Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) as the alien leader Anna. This incarnation of the show was cancelled in 2011, although it picked up several awards for the special effects and performances.
Now Desilu (via Digital Spy) has revealed their intention to produce a major cinematic version of the show, which will be written and directed by Johnson himself. He will reportedly also be helping to produce the movie with John Hermansen (Gray Matters) and Barry Opper (Critters). Speaking about the upcoming project, Johnson said;
“We are delighted to team up with Desilu to bring the timeless – and timely – story of resistance against tyranny into the 21st century… V will be the first of a cinematic trilogy which will tell the full epic tale in the manner I always envisioned.”
The concept of the full-scale alien invasion has super-sized since the original days of V, with the Independence Day movies being the most obvious comparison in terms of alien global destruction. As V has been so far limited to TV and lower budgets, it will be interesting to see how any updates will now be reimagined. There still exists a lot of nostalgia for the show with the recent ABC series helping to keep it alive, which should be a positive factor. The strongest part of the original show was the power of propaganda and politics coupled with the moral issues of resistance, rather than simply just explosions and gun battles. It’s likely that the new films will emphasize those themes as well, especially with the ’tyranny’ comment made by Johnson.
Johnson has made some classic episodes of shows like The Incredible Hulk and Alien Nation, but this big-budget venture will be something new for him and the franchise itself. At this early stage, however, there’s little in the way of concrete details concerning the potential cast and/or production.
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We will keep watch for any further updates regarding V: The Movie.
Source: Digital Spy
