‘Westworld’ creators to take their talents to Amazon for new sci-fi series

By Nick Hastings April 17, 2018

Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con for Westworld Gage Skidmore

With less than a week remaining ahead of the season 2 premiere of Westworld, series creators and showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have committed to a new project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the husband-and-wife duo signed on with Amazon Studios to produce a series adapted from William Gibson’s 2014 sci-fi noir novel The Peripheral. THR referred to the bidding process as “a competitive situation” (between Amazon and other suitors, presumably), that led to a direct script-to-series offer, which means if Amazon likes the script, they can skip the typical pilot process and move right into full production.

The Peripheral follows Flynne Fisher and her brother, Burton, who live in a near-future version of our world where technology has … shaped things differently (for the worse, of course, as is tradition). Flynne covers for her brother in his job as a cybersecurity guard before quickly realizing something is off, and that the connection between her old reality and her new reality isn’t quite what she expected. The novel is Gibson’s most recent work. The author is known for his “speculative science fiction” stories, including the popular Sprawl trilogy, and is often credited as one of the pioneers behind the cyberpunk subgenre.

Under their Kilter Films banner, Joy and Nolan (brother of acclaimed director Christopher Nolan) will act as showrunners and executive producers on the series, which is a collaborative effort between Amazon Studios and Warner Bros. Television. Novelist Scott B. Smith (The Ruins) has been tabbed to write the screenplay, with Vincenzo Natali (Westworld) on board to direct.

Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos has been very forthcoming about his desire for an Amazon show with the massive popularity and global appeal of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and The Peripheral could fit the bill (as could the upcoming Lord of the Rings series, which cost the Seattle-based company quite a bit). Season2 of Westworld premieres Sunday, April 22, but if you don’t have the patience to wait, check out our rumor roundup for all the news and info you can handle. Warning: There are lots of spoilers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick is a Portland native and a graduate of Saint Mary's College of California with a Bachelor's of Communication. Nick's…

Entertainment

3 sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in April 2024

Three people look up into the sky looking terrified in a scene from Cloverfield.

Sci-fi movies come in all shapes in sizes, from ones that feature monsters to others that boast mind control or aliens. Some are parodies with a hint of humor, others skew more toward horror as well. With the three sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in April, you get a bit of everything.

Two of the movies on the list involve J.J. Abrams, and one is co-produced by Steven Spielberg, so you can be confident they’re worth a watch. The third is a remake of a 1975 movie that’s satirical but with a timely message despite being based on a story written more than a half-century ago.
Cloverfield (2008)
Cloverfield (2008) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

Entertainment

3 underrated sci-fi movies on Amazon Freevee you should watch in April

Elisabeth Moss looking up in an overhead view while on the phone in a scene from The Invisible Man.

While Amazon Prime Video is great, Amazon Freevee adds another level to the experience. That’s because the streaming service, formerly known as IMDb TV, can be accessed entirely for free, both with or without an Amazon Prime subscription. You only get personalized movie and TV recommendations when signed in to an Amazon account, but we have some suggestions for you, too.

If sci-fi is on the menu tonight or the next time you’re ready to relax with a good movie, we have scoured what’s available to highlight three underrated sci-fi movies on Amazon Freevee you should watch in April. You’ll have to deal with a few commercials here and there, but it’ll be worth it to check out these gems.
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man - Official Trailer [HD]

Entertainment

This underrated sci-fi movie turns 10 this year. Here’s why it’s still worth watching

An alien looks down at a human face in Under the Skin.

Jonathan Glazer was recently in the news for several reasons. His latest effort, the discomfortingly immersive The Zone of Interest, earned him rave reviews and a nomination for Best Director at this year's Academy Awards. When he took the stage to accept the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, his powerful speech attracted both praise and criticism, cementing his reputation as a true outlier living in an industry so notoriously averse to risk and progressive thought.

With The Zone of Interest, Glazer's art finally entered a more global stage. However, the film that should've given him this level of exposure is his 2013 sci-fi masterpiece, Under the Skin. A visceral, puzzling, and striking cinematic experience unlike any other, Under the Skin is possibly the most daring and unforgettable sci-fi movie of the 2010s, which is no small feat considering triumphs like Arrival and Interstellar also came out during this decade. This month marks the film's 10th anniversary, making it the perfect time to reminisce about this polarizing and underappreciated sci-fi gem that, much like its director, dares to say what very few others will.
Under the brain