A little over a year ago, a show came on Channel 4 in the U.K. called UTOPIA. It inspired a healthy amount of controversy due to its heavy violence, particularly a shocking third episode scene set inside a public school (which I won't spoil). Even though the series has a very geek friendly premise, involving an underground comic book artist who prophesizes the end of the world in his final work before disappearing, the show's been pretty much ignored by fanboys and average viewers alike on this side of the pond. Instead of porting the show over directly, HBO is going to remake the series with David Fincher onboard to direct the pilot and as executive producer.
The Hollywood Reporter got the news that Fincher and his GONE GIRL writer, Gillian Flynn, will collaborate on the HBO remake, which will also have original creator Dennis Kelly as an executive producer as well. No word on how many episodes will comprise the first season, nor on how closely they plan on following the original's structure; this property isn't quite as famous as GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO, so I'm thinking there's a strong chance that Fincher will take the same amount of liberties that he did with the American adaptation of HOUSE OF CARDS.
I was clued into the first series of UTOPIA by a friend who isn't what you'd call a "geek" at all, and I was shocked at the impression it made on me, considering I'd never heard of it. Beyond being thrilling, cleverly written, and surprisingly emotional, the series consistently has this haunting sense of intense paranoia. It's not action-packed, but when the violence occurs it's often harrowing and shocking. The backbone of the series is the main characters' attempt to decipher the subtext of the central graphic novel, creating a irresistible "in" for first-time viewers, and the characters, even at their most wounded and compromised, are engaging and relatable. I highly implore you to check the series out for yourself before the New Jack UTOPIA comes to our TVs, if only the first scene (which you can watch below).
Even if the original series doesn't seem to be getting the kind of stateside attention I would've liked, Fincher's HBO remake is all but guarenteed to, at the very least, shine a light on that excellent first series. Hopefully, Fincher can do with this series what he did with HOUSE OF CARDS, turning it into a masterful, country-wide phenom (and if you watch the original series, you'll see that's now out of the question). As long as they don't tone down the most brutal aspects of the show, I can't imagine it won't be, at the very least, a fun, exciting, geek-friendly show.
So the question I ask Fincher and his casting directors is: who…is…Jessica………Hyde?
to remaking this. If you haven't seen the original, you lost.
