While “Annihilation” might not have been the movie that launched a new film franchise based on the novels by author Jeff VanderMeer (though to be fair, if you listen to director Alex Garland, that was never the idea), it appears that AMC is looking at another VanderMeer novel series as inspiration for a new franchise — “Borne.”
According to Deadline, AMC has landed the TV rights to VanderMeer’s novels “Borne,” “The Strange Bird,” and the recently released “Dead Astronauts” to turn into a series for the cable network. The “Borne” series of novels follows a character named Rachel, a scavenger in a post-apocalyptic world that was destroyed by an evil corporation. When Rachel discovers the existence of a mysterious creature, the young woman must enter into a battle with the corporation. The author will stay aboard the project as a producer and creative consultant.
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“I’m so excited about this partnership and working with AMC on the ‘Borne’ universe,” VanderMeer said. “I’ve had such productive, energizing, and creative conversations with the wonderful folks involved and look forward to the road ahead.”
As mentioned, VanderMeer is probably best known as the author behind “Annihilation” and the novel’s subsequent sequels “Authority” and “Acceptance,” which make up the Southern Reach Trilogy. The first novel was recently turned into a great film by filmmaker Alex Garland but wasn’t given the marketing support from Paramount to help launch a franchise. In addition, the director said that he didn’t write “Annihilation” with the idea of making sequels, effectively ending any chance that the Southern Reach Trilogy would come to the big screen.
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Fans of VanderMeer’s writing will be happy to know that AMC clearly has its sights set on developing “Borne” into a long-running series, telling the entirety of the saga. That is if people tune in.