It seems Netflix continues to be in the business of making new adaptations of books that were turned into classic thriller movies by Alfred Hitchcock. Last year saw the release of the disappointing new adaptation of “Rebecca,” and now, the streaming is developing a new adaptation of “The 39 Steps” as a limited series, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring.
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Deadline has the scoop on Netflix adapting “The 39 Steps,” and updating John Buchan‘s 1915 novel to the modern era. Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant“) will write the limited series, while Edward Berger is set to direct every episode. Anonymous Content, Chapter One Pictures and SunnyMarch are producing. The new adaptation is described as “a provocative, action-packed conspiracy thriller series that updates the classic novel for relevance in contemporary times. An ordinary man, Richard Hannay, becomes an unwitting pawn in a vast, global conspiracy to reset the world order: 39 Steps that will change the world as we know it, with only Hannay standing in the way.”
If the idea of Hollywood making a show about a conspiracy theorist actually being right about a secret society trying to control the world is something you think we should get more of right now, then “The 39 Steps” may be right up your alley.
The novel was most famously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935, with Robert Donat starring as Hannay, but since then it’s been also adapted into feature films both in 1959 and 1978, as well as a 90-minute made-for-TV movie that aired on the BBC in 2008.
According to a report by Deadline, the limited series will comprise “six or more hourlong episodes,” and the project will begin shooting next year in Europe if schedules allow it.