HBO has ordered a pilot based on Octavia Butler’s novel Fledgling! This comes right on the heels of A24’s acquisition of her earlier novel Parable of the Sower. Kirkus Reviews announced both projects earlier last week.
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Published in 2005, Fledgling centers on a seemingly young, amnesiac girl named Shori. She wakes up alone and confused in a cave; her alarming, inhuman abilities lead her to realize she is a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. The story follows Shori’s efforts to discover her past and escape those who would destroy her.
HBO’s Fledgling series comes from Lovecraft Country writers and co-executive producers Jonathan I. Kidd and Sonya Winton-Odamtten. Issa Rae of Insecure and J.J. Abrams will also executive produce the adaptation.
Parable of the Sower, on the other hand, comes from A24, with director Garrett Bradley attached. Sower will be her first feature film at a major studio; her other work includes the Naomi Osaka docuseries and the Oscar-nominated Time.
Octavia Butler’s science-fiction odyssey is set in the (now very) near future of Los Angeles, where society is rapidly breaking down thanks to global warming, economic stagnation and wealth disparity. Lauren is a teen with the ability to experience the physical pain of others; when her sheltered life comes crashing down, she heads out into a harsh new world. She must make her way north to safety, conceiving a revolutionary idea to save humankind along the way.
Parable of the Sower debuted in 1993, but fans recently rediscovered it, pushing the book to the New York Times bestseller list for the first time in September 2020. This was a lifelong dream of Butler’s, realized long after her death in 2006.
There are three other Octavia Butler projects in the works; in March, FX announced a series based on 1979’s Kindred, with Janicza Bravo directing the pilot and Mallori Johnson set to star. Amazon Studios is developing Butler’s Wild Seed, co-written by Nnedi Okorafor, and an Ava DuVernay led show based on the novel Dawn.
This is a great time to be an Octavia Butler fan! Which of her works is your favorite, and which adaptation are you most looking forward to? Let us know!
This article was originally published 8/8/21.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/book-to-screen-adaptations-of-2021/
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