'Utopia' Adaptation on HBO: Is Production Back On Again After Network Drops Development in 2015?
It looks like things are still rolling for the "Utopia" adaptation on HBO. Originally set for development in 2014, the network decided to drop the show because it could not agree to the budget director David Fincher asked.
But a notice from Production Weekly indicated there's a "Utopia" in the upcoming filming schedule. According to Spoiler TV, work on the set will begin in October and will end in May even as HBO has not made any announcements on reviving its original plans.
HBO bought the rights to adapt the British conspiracy thriller "Utopia" for U.S. audience three years ago. The show, which first aired on U.K.'s Channel 4, revolved around a group of graphic novel fans who got hold of a manuscript to the sequel, which contained top secret plans. These fans were then hunted down and killed by a contract killer with inexplicable behavior as a conspiracy unraveled.
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The series was cancelled after two seasons on U.K. TV but despite its lackluster ratings, HBO took interest in doing an adaptation because the show was popular among online. The network signed on Fincher and writer Gillian Lynn ("Gone Girl") for the project.
But in 2015, HBO released everyone involved in the adaptation from their contracts as development plans fell through. The show would have starred Rooney Mara, Eric McCormack, Jason Ritter, Dallas Roberts, Colm Feore, Brandon Scott and Agyness Deyn.
Meanwhile, "Utopia" creator Dennis Kelly revealed in a recent interview that the adaption on HBO isn't dead. "They're still talking about doing it...it's not gone, it's still sort of there," Kelly told New Zealand Herald in April. "I can't say too much because they might do it...you never know what's going to happen." Kelly, however, did not detail whether Fincher or Flynn is still part of the ongoing talks with HBO.
