Ridley Scott remains an incredibly busy man, even into his 80s. The director is currently wrapping production on The Last Duel and prepping for both Napoleon movie Kitbag and biopic House Of Gucci, but that isn’t stopping him from getting into the limited series game.
Alongside executive producer Steven Knight, Scott is reportedly developing an epic limited series titled Roads To Freedom. The show will tell the story of World War II from multiple perspectives around the globe. The series will be based on the books of Sir Antony Beevor, who will co-write the 10 episode series alongside Knight.
Scott is planning to start the show off right by directing the first episode. Deadline reports that the series is deeply personal for Scott, who plans to draw on memories of his own childhood in wartime Britain and his subsequent journey to post-war Germany, where his father played a crucial role in rebuilding the country.
Interestingly, the project doesn’t have financing in place yet, nor a distribution deal from a network or streamer. Instead, it’s being put together as a global co-production and fielding inquiries from “equity finance players” to fund the project. Who knows exactly what that means, but basically there’s no word yet on where this thing will eventually air or stream.
There have been myriad WWII films and shows, but most are usually told from the British or American perspective. Roads To Freedom is expected to expand the scope and tell stories from characters in Russia, France, and Germany, highlighting the horrors of war around the world.
Beevor’s books have sold over 33 million copies worldwide, so it’s a bit of a coup to have him on board to adapt his own work. He’ll bring expertise alongside Knight, who is the man behind Peaky Blinders.
In addition to all the projects mentioned above, Scott is actually already collaborating with Knight on another TV series. The duo are adapting Charles Dickens‘ Great Expectations for FX. How Scott is going to fit all these into his schedule is anyone’s guess, but he’ll no doubt find a way.
#Peace.Love.RoadsToFreedom
