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About two weeks ago, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Paramount Pictures had acquired the film rights to the Mars-set epic "Red Rising" book series. "The Hunger Games" filmmaker Francis Lawrence is set to direct, with "Terminator: Dark Fate" co-writer Justin Rhodes penning the screenplay.
In reality, Hollywood has spent the past 12 years trying to bring "Red Rising" to the screen. In a recent interview, Lawrence explained why the project has taken so long to get off the ground.
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Universal Pictures first acquired the rights to "Red Rising" in 2014 with plans for a movie, but that version never materialized. Author Pierce Brown later revealed in 2021 that he had partnered with a streaming service to develop the books as a TV series. This March, however, Brown announced that the series was no longer moving forward. Lawrence recently told IGN that the mystery streamer was Netflix—and that he had been involved since the TV adaptation was in development.
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Lawrence recalled: "I've been involved with 'Red Rising' for about eight years, and Pierce Brown and I have become friends. My producing partner, Cameron MacConomy, first brought the book to me. He's also producing the movie, and I've been working with him since 2010. He discovered the book and gave it to me, and we both fell in love with it. After meeting Pierce, we took the project out to the market and ultimately landed at Netflix. We originally planned to make it as a series. Unfortunately, we didn't have a great experience at Netflix. We had two amazing pilots written, but the leadership kept changing. One minute they wanted it to be a tentpole, then they wanted YA, and then it was back to being a tentpole again. The project kept getting bounced around, and it isn't cheap to make—especially if you want to do it right. They never had the guts to pull the trigger. Once the option expired, the rights reverted to Pierce, and he then took it to Paramount. I was thrilled because I actually prefer the theatrical approach for 'Red Rising' over streaming. It absolutely deserves to be seen in theaters, in IMAX and as the full big-screen experience."
via： IGN