Steven Spielberg bringing Minority Report to TV

By Rick Marshall August 22, 2014

steven spielberg bringing minority report tv — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film that unfolded in a future when police officers stop crime before it happens is headed to television, with Godzilla screenwriter Max Borenstein attached to pen the series and Spielberg’s Amblin Television producing the project.

As reported by The Wrap, the series will likely follow one or more officers in a “PreCrime” police unit tasked with stopping violent crimes before the perpetrators have a chance to commit them with the help of psychic “precogs” to identify the future criminals. Spielberg’s 2002 film starred Tom Cruise and was based on a 1956 Philip K. Dick short story of the same name. The film was a tremendous success at the box office, grossing over $358 million and earning an Oscar nomination for sound editing.

The similarities between the theme of The Minority Report and that of the current series Person Of Interest — in which a scientist and a former special agent attempt to prevent crimes fro happening using a complicated computer that “predicts” criminal activities — will likely play a big role in the discussion surrounding the series, though the futuristic setting of Minority Report may help differentiate the two projects.

While neither Spielberg nor Amblin have confirmed the project yet, the filmmaker is expected to pursue a well-known actor for the lead, similar to the way the producers brought in Halle Berry for the Extant series.

Given that 20th Century Fox distributed the 2002 film, there’s reason to believe that the Fox network might have preference as the series’ home, but nothing is official at this point.

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