Apple TV Plushas ordered a new series based onMetropolis, a staple of cinema history, with the creator ofMr. Robotat the helm.
Since the massive critical success of his 2015 show,Mr. Robot, which launched Rami Malek and effectively rebranded USA network, Sam Esmail has been keeping busy. After earning yet more acclaim with Amazon’sHomecoming, the visionary Esmail is undertaking a reboot ofSyfy’sBattlestar Galactica. Given the decades-long popularity of the franchise (and the decade of displeasure inspired by its ambiguous conclusion), it would seem that Esmail is not afraid to embrace monumental projects.
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Now he is taking on one of the most monumental projects in cinema history, adapting the 1927 Fritz Lang filmMetropolisinto a series forApple TV Plus. In addition to being the showrunner, Esmail will direct the adaptation, as he did with bothMr. RobotandHomecoming. TheApple TV Plus serieswill also be executive produced by Esmail under his overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, alongside Chad Hamilton.
Premiering in 1927 in Berlin,Metropoliswas not initially well-received, and the drastic cuts that were made before it could be screened in America gutted the film of much of its narrative logic. The full film would not be restored to its original running time until 2010. Meanwhile, it has taken its place in cinema history as a pioneer of science fiction and the technical wizardry required to bring fantastical stories to life on film. Moreover, its story, about the gritty underground city that powers a playground paradise for the elites, who live above, has remained relevant as a fable of class struggle and uprising.
Esmail is not new to the story of class struggle, asMr. Robotbegan largely as a parableof the role of money and commerce in social stratification. Elliot’s quest to take down the structures that imprison the drones of the American middle class premiered after the 2013 financial crisis, but it was still years ahead of more class-conscious movements gaining traction in popular society. In Esmail,Metropolishas found the perfect storyteller, in both subject and form, as Esmail has shown the same visionary sensibilities that distinguished the film in the first place.
While many may not have heard ofMetropolis(despite its undeniable influence on contemporary cinema), this is still news to get excited about. Barring any tragic missteps with the upcomingBattlestar Galacticareboot, Esmail brings massive cultural capital to the project, which will undoubtedly attract fans who are unfamiliar with the original film. For those who are familiar with it, however, there will not be thesame attention to Easter eggs—or the same focus on fidelity—that comes with adapting more mainstream properties. Although it is very early in the process, there is every reason to expect thatMetropoliswill be a success.
