A long-held joke in Hollywood is that once you’ve bled a franchise or movie idea dry, the only viable step is to set it in space. “Hellraiser”, “Friday the 13th”, etc, have all been taken into outer space, even if they don’t necessarily make any sense. Then again, Hollywood isn’t in the business of making movies that make sense, they’re in the business of making movies that make money, and adding “In space!” to an aging film’s tagline seems to be the full extent of their “creativity”.
The latest two titles to get the “in space!” tag are two classic novels — Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”.
Warner Bros. is the studio behind the “Monte Cristo” in space movie, which will be based on a script by Ian Shorr. The futuristic version of Dumas’ novel will apparently retain the original tale’s story of false imprisonment and vengeance, only, you know, set in space. The most recent adaptation of the novel was the 2002 movie starring James Caviezel and Guy Pearce.
Meanwhile, Radar Pictures are the folks behind “Heart of Darkness” in space. The tale has been retitled “In Darkness”, with Peter Cornwell already attached to direct from a script by Tony Giglio and Branden Morgan.
Previously adapted once by Francis Ford Coppola as “Apocalypse Now”, “Darkness” finds ferryboat captain Charles Marlow seeking to return shadowy ivory trader Kurtz back to civilization.
