Off to the planet Mars we go. According to THR, sources are saying that Paramount Pictures has picked up the movie rights to The Martian Chronicles, the 1940s classic collection of short stories written by Ray Bradbury.
According to the trade, John Davis will produce the adaptation of Bradbury’s short stories about humans trying to colonize Mars. In three structures, the stories dealt with attempts to settle Mars and the Martians’ efforts to fight the humans off, the colonization of the red planet and a nuclear war that eventually forces most of the humans to return to Earth. In the aftermath of the war, humans become the new Martians.
This isn’t the first time the short stories has been adapted for audiences. In 1988 NBC and the BBC produced a TV miniseries based on a script written by Richard Matheson with Rock Hudson leading the cast. Then in 1997, Universal tried to to produce a feature film with Steven Spielberg and John Davis, trying to get the book adapted for the big screen. Unfortunately, that option was never picked up. But now it seems as if Paramount has stepped up to the plate. Currently, there is no writer for The Martian Chronicles but it shouldn’t be long before they find one. We’ll let you know when they do.
