For forty years it seemed like this sci-fi masterpiece couldn’t be made into a movie – now there’s a streaming series instead of a movie

As AppleTV+ announced, there will be a “Neuromancer“series for the streaming service. author Graham Roland (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) and director J.D. Dillard (“Devotion”) are responsible for the implementation. The series will consist of ten episodes in total.

Central to the story is computer hacker Case, once the best in his field. But his nervous system has been damaged by a poison, meaning he can no longer log into cyberspace. He goes through life as a drug-addicted murderer with a death wish when the mysterious Molly suddenly appears on the scene. She offers Case a deal for her client: healing in exchange for completing a special order. But neither Case nor Molly have any idea what they’re really doing…

Many failed attempts in cinema

It seems as if Gibson’s classic is now actually being made into a movie. People have been grinding their teeth on it for years, but the award-winning work, which also has two sequels, is incredibly influential. Films like ‘The Matrix’ or ‘Ghost In The Shell’ refer to Gibson. Even a video game like “Deus Ex” or a novel like “Altered Carbon” (now itself adapted as a series) cannot deny the influences.

Author Gibson once crowned video artist Chris Cunningham the only person he trusted to adapt his work. But his project remained in development hell for years – as did many subsequent attempts. “Cube” director Vincenzo Natali came close to making it happen several times. Stars like Mark Wahlberg and Liam Neeson were on board. But in the end, the financing didn’t work for him. Recently, a film adaptation from Deadpool director Tim Miller seemed to have the best prospects, but was no longer put forward after Disney acquired Studio Fox. So the way was now clear for Apple. The people there seem to think that a film may never have been the right medium to film the complex story, so a ten-part series must now be made.