Back before he was responsible for Captain America: The First Avenger, director Joe Johnston was behind another tale of fantasy and unlikely potential: The Pagemaster. The film featured Macauley Culkin as a cowardly boy who becomes an illustration and must overcome obstacles from classic books if he’s ever to return to reality. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a dud and Johnston moved on, but it seems not everyone has forgotten his interest in family-friendly tales of being sucked into bookish magical worlds.
Coming Soon is reporting that TNT has tapped Johnston to direct the pilot of their new series Lumen, which bears some resemblance to The Pagemaster in both plot and subject matter.
Lumen reovlves a fantasy author who suddenly vanishes, followed by the disappearance of a family who are transported to the magical realm that inspired her work. There they come up against dark and light magical forces engaged in a heated battle, and must solve a “complicated mystery” before they are able to return home.
The idea of being sucked into a magical world has been done in various iterations since Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia, though this idea complicates matters by wrapping it all up in a book series a la The Pagemaster or Inkheart. Yes, this sounds very much like a family-friendly outing rather than a serious series for adults, but not everything can be dark and disturbing. There’s a lot of potential here, if the correct writers and actors can be found. The series will be an episodic TV show, so do not expect everything to be resolved quickly. If Lumen is successful, TNT will want to keep it going for many seasons to come.
Whether TNT’s gamble will pay off has yet to be seen, but Lumen is set to be a part of the network’s ambitious Sunday night line-up. With a director like Johnston secured, we wish the network and the series all the best of luck.
