Dimension To Develop ‘Scanners’ TV Series
EXCLUSIVE: David Cronenberg’s science-fiction horror classic Scanners may be headed to the small screen. The Weinstein Co.’s Dimension Films is developing a drama series adaptation of the movies about a group of people with telepathic and telekinetic abilities, with The Hills Have Eyes writer-director Alexandre Aja signed to executive produce the series and potentially direct the pilot.
Dimension was not involved in the original 1981 Scanners film or its sequels, but acquired the rights to the franchise in a development deal several years ago. The original plan was to mount a theatrical remake, with David Goyer tapped to write two drafts, and Rene Malo, Clark Peterson and Pierre David signed as producers. 
But with the recent resurgence of genre TV dramas like AMC’s monster hit The Walking Dead, Dimension started also considering a small-screen adaptation. According to insiders, it was Dimension principal Bob Weinstein and Aja who conceived of the plan to transform the Scanners property into a TV show. Malo, Peterson and David remain attached as executive producers on the series, while Goyer is no longer involved. Dimension is already in talks with potential showrunners to create and run the series. Aja is repped by WME and Industry Entertainment.
Nice. Sounds like a better TV show than a remake anyway. Don’t f— it up, guys!
Cool!
Love this movie!
I MUST AGREE WITH THE TWO COMMENTS. IT WILL BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHERE THE TV SERIES WILL GO WHERE THE ORIGINAL FILM LEFT OFF. GOOD LUCK TO THE FUTURE. YOUR TRULY CHARLES DAVID HASKELL
If Dimension is smart, they will go with a cable or premium cable network. Genre TV on Broadcast is very scarce and dying out because they have no clue how to market shows like that. I think TNT, Syfy, or Starz would be their best bet. It will probably be Starz, considering Dimension is in a partnership with Anchor Bay.
If a guy’s head blows up each and every week, I might tune in.
Ha! Very funny. I bet the entire development process won’t end with one thing better than your comment.
His comment was probably the pitch.
Bob movies make better franchises than Harvey movies. An animated series seems like the only way to continue Sin City.
Broadcast TV doesn’t have a clue how to handle or market genre TV effectively, and there’s a nice long list of genre TV shows which have died quick deaths because the broadcast nets didn’t have a clue how to market them. So I agree with those who say that a cable or premium channel network is the way to go with Scanners as a TV series.
Torchwood: Miracle Day has been fairly successful for Starz (much better than that gosh-awful Camelot), and a Scanners TV series on Starz would probably do well… just hope they don’t f– it up, though, and would it be too much to hope that David Cronenberg would be asked to direct an episode?
This does sounds interesting but I honestly wonder why Aja has not moved to bigger, better things by now. Piranha 3-D has the most B-movie premise of any non-Tarantino/Rodriguez film in years and makes it incredibly watchable and entertaining.
Hear,hear. And hopefully,it’ll air on a cable channel like AMC,USA or even SyFy to allow the series to find its audience and grow.
I posted before I even read your comments. Great minds and all that jazz,eh?