This is exciting news for the legion of fans of the Darkover novels by the late great Marion Zimmer Bradley, who also wrote my personal favorite, The Mists of Avalon. Producers Ilene Kahn Power and Elizabeth Stanley announced this week that they have secured the rights to the series and are currently developing it into a “multi-platform” television series.
Here are the pertinent parts of the press release, via ComingSoon:
“Set in a unique world and full of great adventure, the ‘Darkover’ series truly has the potential to be must-see television for seasons to come,” says Kahn Power. “The novels have a huge fan following throughout the science fiction and fantasy communities internationally, and Marion Zimmer Bradley was an inspiration to and a nurturer of many notable fantasy writers including C.J. Cherryh, Charles de Lint, Mercedes Lackey, Diana L. Paxson, and many others.”
According to Stanley, “Bradley’s Darkover novels and short stories chronicle the development of a remarkable civilization – technology poor but rich in its ability to harness the psi powers of the human brain (such as telepathy and telekinesis).”
Stanley adds, “One of the hallmarks of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s work is her rethinking and reinvention of gender roles. She was among the first speculative fiction writers to take on gender stereotypes and bend them or turn them topsy-turvy, thereby creating complex and unforgettable characters whose struggles with their own identities, as well as what society expects of them, feel completely modern.”
Kahn Power continues, “With the ability to create the ‘Darkover’ world through state-of-the-art effects and the opportunity to utilize multiple platforms to unfold our narrative, now is the ideal time to create a lasting and far-reaching series that features compelling characters and gripping stories that will appeal not only to existing fans but also to the broader audience which has embraced series such as ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica.’”
According to Variety, the author’s estate wanted the adaption to be a feature film, but Power and Stanley convinced them that a series would be a more viable path. With dozens of books as source material, we’d have to agree. The project has already been presented to one cable network with more presentations in the works. By the way, that “development of a remarkable civilization”? It’s not on Earth.
We’ll keep you posted.
