It’s been a long time coming, but Justin Cronin’s bestselling horror trilogy The Passage is finally poised to spring off the page.
Emerging from a prolonged and difficult spell in film development – Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) was initially attached to develop the movie adaptation – Cronin’s vampire thriller has been repackaged for television, and we now have confirmation that Fox has ordered a pilot for the show. Variety has the scoop, confirming that Ridley Scott remains on board to executive produce the one-hour drama. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Heldens will handle script duties, and could potentially be elected showrunner should The Passage go on to earn a full-season order.
That’s all hypothetical for now, but we understand Matt Reeves is set to helm the pilot episode, having been attached to The Passage for six years and change. Evoking comparisons to I Am Legend – the film, not the literary classic – Justin Cronin’s saga imagines a near-future in which a group of terminally ill cancer patients is miraculously cured of their ailments after being bitten by South American bats. Such a recovery prompts governments of the world to fast-track an antidote with disastrous results, spawning a group of telepathic vampires that roam the land in search of fresh blood. The fate of the world is then left in the hands of Amy, a young girl who anchors Cronin’s story through its two literary sequels, The Twelve and The City of Mirrors.
The Passage is officially a go at Fox with Matt Reeves, Elizabeth Heldens and Ridley Scott all attached in some capacity. Elsewhere on Fox’s upcoming slate, the network recently handed out a pilot order for the long-rumored X-Men series. It’ll be directed by franchise veteran Bryan Singer.