Ridley Scott To Produce Miniseries Based On Arthur C. Clarke’s 3001: The Final Odyssey

The fourth instalment in Arthur C. Clarke’s legendary sci-fi series, 3001: The Final Odyssey, will be brought to life as a SyFy miniseries. The show has entered development with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions and Warner Horizon TV set to produce and Pirates Of The Caribbean scribe Stuart Beattle on scripting duties.

Clarke’s series spanned a whopping 30 years, during which time he published 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two and 2061: Odyssey Three. Each of the four instalments has received the big screen treatment in some form or another with the exception of the third, which flailed in development. But it’s Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 genre-defining adaptation of 2001 that is most often recalled and recited for its brilliance. The new 3001 miniseries sequel will follow one of that film’s characters – Frank Poole – who was killed by the HAL supercomputer. As is the case with the flexibility of sci-fi, it turns out he wasn’t dead but simply frozen.

Here’s the book’s official synopsis to further clue you in:

One thousand years after the Jupiter mission to explore the mysterious Monolith had been destroyed, after Dave Bowman was transformed into the Star Child, Frank Poole drifted in space, frozen and forgotten, leaving the supercomputer HAL inoperable. But now Poole has returned to life, awakening in a world far different from the one he left behind–and just as the Monolith may be stirring once again. . . .

It’s a safe bet that with Ridley Scott overseeing the series, it’s going to be one helluva mind-blowing sci-fi spectacle. Or it could turn out like Prometheus. Whichever way your pendulum swings, Scott himself is pretty gung-ho about it:

“I have always been a fan of Clarke’s extraordinary ‘Odyssey’ series, and certainly Kubrick’s adaptation of 2001. I am thrilled to be part of bringing that legacy to audiences and continuing the great cinematic tradition that this story and its creators deserve.”

3001: The Final Odyssey is expected to debut sometime in 2015.