Village Roadshow’s plannedMysttelevision adaptation is moving forward as writer Ashley Edward Miller has signed on to write the pilot and serve as showrunner for the upcoming series. Known for penningX-Men: First Class, Miller’s other work as a writer includeTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,Andromeda,Thor, andBlack Sails. Co-creator Rand Miller and his brother Ryan Miller will develop and produce the project alongside Village Roadshow and Delve Media’s Isaac Testerman and Yale Rice.
Created by Rand and Robyn Miller,Mystwas first released as aMacintosh personal computer gamein 1993. The first-person computer game has players traveling to an island world called Myst by way of reading a magical book, solving puzzles on the island to learn more about the story and its characters. The game turned out to be a big hit with gamers, reaching more players over the years with new ports and remakes. Other game developers noticed as well, and gamers saw manyMystclones to follow in the coming years, with none managing to reach the same level of financial success.Mystalso spawned many sequels of its own and was officially the top-selling video game of all time untilThe Simspassed its spot in 2002.
Reportedly, Village Roadshow will “rely on andexpand upon the game’s existing mythologyto develop a multi-platform universe that includes film, scripted and unscripted television content.” This suggests the company is feeling very confident with the potential for theirMysttelevision series, already looking to branch its story out into movies and other types of programming. Still, while the franchise has yet to make its way into movies and television, this won’t be the first timeMysthas delved into other mediums. From author David Wingrove in collaboration with the Miller brothers, a series ofMystnovels was previously published, filling in the gaps in the story left by the video game series.
There have been plans in the works to turnMystinto a television series for years. In 2015, it was reported thatHuluhad obtained the rights to the game with plans to develop a series focusing on the origin of the game’s island setting. For whatever reason, the project failed to get off the ground, leading to Village Roadshow acquiring the rights last year to produce their ownMystmovies, television shows, and other content based on the game. Time will tell if this project fares better than the planned Hulu adaptation, but Village Roadshow clearly has big plans for the franchise.
Gamerswho lived through the ’90s will certainly remember whenMystwas at the peak of its popularity. For many players, the classic title is still fondly remembered as one of their first computer games, and watching a new TV series based on the game would certainly feel nostalgic. We’ll see if that carries over into Village Roadshow’s upcoming series and if it can reach the same heights as the original video game had in the ’90s. This news comes to us fromDeadline.
