Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Neil Gaiman and Akiva Goldsman are working on a new version of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast for FremantleMedia.

According to Deadline, the new version will be based on all five books in Peake’s sequence – only the first two were used for the BBC version in 2000. This includes the 2009 novel Titus Awakes, completed by Peake’s widow (included in Brian Sibley’s 2011 Radio 4 adaptation).

“There is nothing in literature like Mervyn Peake’s remarkable Gormenghast novels,” Gaiman noted in a statement.  “They were crafted by a master, who was also an artist, and they take us to an ancient castle as big as a city, with heroes and villains and people larger than life that are impossible to forget. There is a reason why there were two trilogies that lovers of the fantasy genre embraced in the Sixties: Lord of the Rings, and the Gormenghast books. It’s an honor to have been given the opportunity to help shepherd Peake’s brilliant and singular vision to the screen.”

“Nothing combines a dark atmosphere with humor and intrigue the way that Gormenghast does.  It’s one of the most eccentric and vividly imagined universes ever created,” Dante Di Loreto, President of Scripted Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America added.  “We’re excited to continue our relationship with Neil and the producing team assembled for this project is ideal to explore the series’ perfect mix of humor, pathos and tragedy.”

“We are tremendously excited by the prospect of seeing the Gormenghast books realized for television,” Fabian Peake, son of Mervyn and executor of the Peake estate explained.  “This venture presents a unique opportunity to explore the imagination of a multi-faceted artist.”