Will ‘Fahrenheit 451’ start a stream of Ray Bradbury adaptations?
Dystopia is so hot right now. Everywhere you look it seems a new dystopian adaptation is released. The work of Philip K. Dick (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Blade Runner) has been adapted for years, and Margaret Atwood is the toast of the town with The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace. There’s even a miniseries adaption of Atwood’s extraordinary MaddAddam trilogy in the works. (We’re huge fans of Oryx and Crake over here at FD.)
Who’s the next author to become a well for TV and film adaptations? Even though HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 bombed last year, Ray Bradbury could be still be a major source for more. If studios decides to continue bringing Bradbury to the screen, these works could just be next.
A Sound of Thunder
This one is basically Westworld meets Jurassic Park with a dash of time travel, and is the most adaptable Bradbury short story. Rich people travel back in time to hunt dinosaurs before (of course) something goes terribly wrong. The 2005 adaptation was a failure, but studios would probably have better luck this time around. Hell, it could even star Dwayne Johnson (Rampage).
The Pedestrian
Leonard Mead is the only person to go on walks at night. He is stopped by an automated police officer and dispatched to a psych ward for doing so. The film could dive deeper into why Mead’s behavior is deemed so regressive, and we can totally see Jimmi Simpson (Black Mirror) crushing this, just like he crushes everything.
There Will Come Soft Rains
A smart house continues to cater to a family after they have all been incinerated by a nuclear bomb. This film could rely on flashback in order to create the family and make us feel for them. We’d love to see Marion Cotillard (Inception) and Benny Batch (Doctor Strange) as heads of the ill-fated household.
