Per Deadline, Paramount are developing a currently untitled H.G. Wells project in conjunction with Wes Ball‘s OddBall Entertainment and under its Paramount Players label.
There’s currently no specific information on what Wells novel is being adapted, but Deadline is hearing that it will be a loose adaptation that stems from the “mythology” of one of the writer’s most iconic titles anyway.
Up and comer Laura Gillis, whose spec script Possession recently caught the attention of studios, is writing the screenplay based off of a previous version by T.S. Nowlin (The Adam Project, Pacific Rim: Uprising).
Ball, who previously directed all three Maze Runner films, will produce the project alongside Joe Hartwick Jr. and Hank Wyler under their first-look deal with the studio.
Wells is an iconic sci-fi writer best known for seminal works such as The Time Machine, The Island Of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War Of The Worlds, so the possibilities as to what this adaptation could be are vast.
Though it’s a good bet that one of those four might be the basis for the “loose” adaptation that sounds likely to be an origin story of sorts.
With this project being developed under the Paramount Player label, there’s a good chance it will wind up premiering on Paramount+. And if that’s the case it’s easy to see why the studio is trying to use the Wells name to draw in more subscribers. He remains a popular author, and a new adaptation (or “reimagining”, or whatever they will call it) should still interest fans.
Hopefully we’ll get a few more details regarding the project soon. Paramount’s latest films include the just-released adventure romcom The Lost City starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, next month’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and May’s comedy film Senior Year.
#Peace.Love.HGWells
