Terry Matalas, the showrunner who steered the final season of to new ratings and critical heights, has been tapped to write an update of the 1985 cult sci-fi movie for 20 Century Studios. Set in a future where mankind is warring with a reptilian alien species, starred has a human pilot and as an alien who crash land on a desolate planet. Both have deep-seated hatred for one another, but are forced to overcome their prejudices to survive.
Things are taken up a notch when the human pilot must take care of the alien’s baby when the reptilian is no longer able. was the English-language debut of German filmmaker , who took over the project after 20th Century Fox fired original director Richard Loncraine during production. The imbroglio, which necessitated reshooting the film, ballooned the budget, with more woe coming when the movie crash landed at the box office.
Years later, however, the movie enjoyed a reappraisal, with many lauding its themes of tolerance and respect, earning it a cult following. The original film was based on a novella by the sci-fi author Barry B. Longyear.
The novella was originally published in Isaac magazine in 1979. The story won the Nebula Award that year for best novella. It was followed by two sequels and eventually published as a trilogy titled .
No producer or director is currently on board. Matalas earned his stripes in the sci-fi TV world, where he was the creator and showrunner of the TV series and exec producer and showrunner of season four of.