The Man Who Fell to Earth was one of the great cult science fiction films of the ’70s. Originally based on a novel by Walter Tevis, the 1976 film by Nicolas Roeg achieved much of its cult status thanks to the fact that its the titular alien was played by none other than otherwordly icon David Bowie. According to a report from Deadline, the classic story is being reimagined as a television series, with none other than current Star Trek guru Alex Kurtzman at the helm. The show has a full series order from CBS All Access, which is also the home of Kurtzman’s Star Trek: Discovery and the forthcoming Star Trek: Picard.
Originally set up at Hulu, the recent Disney buyout of Fox maneuvered CBS to steer the production to their own streaming platform instead. The series seems like it will only be loosely based on the original film and novel, and the titular man who fell to Earth won’t be the same character that Bowie played over 40 years ago. Instead, this new alien character will be based on.. Steve Jobs? Yes, according to comments made by Kurtzman, the alien who comes to our planet is going to be a tech giant.
In a statement, Kurtzman and series producer Jenny Lumet said the following:
“Walter Tevis’ visionary novel gave us a Tech God Willy Wonka from another planet, brought to life by David Bowie’s legendary performance, that foretold Steve Jobs’ and Elon Musk’s impact on our world. The series will imagine the next step in our evolution, seen through the eyes of an alien who must learn what it means to become human, even as he fights for the survival of his species.”
There is no word yet on who CBS has in mind to fill Bowie’s impressive moon boots, but it’s quite a tall order to try and recapture the magic that he brought to the role. Granted, that the lead alien will be a separate character from Bowie’s Jerome Newton is one hurdle overcome. Kurtzman is starting a writer’s room for the series in the fall, with production expected to begin sometime next year.
Images: British Lion Films
