Way back in 2015, just a couple of months before the Descender comics series which comes from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen debuted, Sony Pictures had grabbed the rights for the film. Both Lemire and Nguyen will serve as executive producers for the film with Josh Bratman as a producer as well.
“It was a competitive situation for Descender, and we are thrilled that it ended with Sony Pictures acquiring the series,” Lemire and Nguyen said in the press release announcing the news back in 2015. “We know that their film translation will do justice to the original comics, and we are thrilled with their belief in the franchise potential.”
It looks like that just couldn’t make the development leap there as the project – along with its successor comic series Ascender – have now been setup with NBCUniversal’s Lark Productions gaining the TV rights. Both creators are involved in producing this like they were with the film project.
“The world of ‘Descender’ and ‘Ascender just keeps growing,” said Lemire in a statement. “And Dustin [Nguyen] and I are very happy to be working with Lark to bring it to televisions screens as well. Their passion for the comics and devotion to telling the story the right way has us both very excited.” For Nguyen, it’s about presenting the world to viewers in a whole new light: “It’s definitely going to be an entirely new adventure to see our characters come to life onscreen and share them with a whole new audience.”
See our coverage of the Descender and Ascender series.
Decender concept: Young Robot boy TIM-21 and his companions struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. Written by award-winning creator, Jeff Lemire, Descender is a rip-roaring and heart-felt cosmic odyssey. Lemire pits humanity against machine, and world against world, to create a sprawling epic.
Ascender concept: Set ten years after the conclusion of DESCENDER’s storyline, magic has taken the place of machinery and the rules are very different indeed… Mila, the daughter of Andy and Effie from DESCENDER, spends her days exploring the lonely wilds of the planet Sampson and trying to stay out of the clutches of the evil disciples of the all-powerful vampire witch known only as Mother. But, like her parents, Mila doesn’t like to play by the rules, and when a certain robot pal of her dad’s shows up, nothing will ever be the same.
[Source: Variety]
