Count Lionsgate among the studios that saw the success of Looper and decided intelligent, high concept sci-fi can work. The company’s executives are moving forward with When First We Were Gods, an adaptation of a Rick Yancey short story. Up and coming writer Aron Eli Coleite has been hired to handle the screenplay duties and music video and commercials director Daniel Askill will helm, thanks largely to the recent success of his short film We Have Decided Not To Die.
According to Deadline, When First We Were Gods is set in a futuristic world in which the incredibly wealthy have discovered a way to make themselves immortal. One man with such power decides he’d rather spend eternity with his mistress and begins plotting ways to kill his wife in order to swap her out for his mortal love. With the scheme comes new ideas about love and new ways of looking at the world.
Considering Coleite was only recently hired, this is still a long way off from even going into production. Whenever the script is finished, it’ll be interesting to see the type of potential Lionsgate sees in the film. This could easily be an artsy $8 million dollar character study, or it could be a glitzy take on the future with bigger names and a much bigger investment. With any luck, like Looper, When First We Were Gods will find that happy medium.
We’ll keep you updated over the next year as this project gets closer to becoming a reality. Until then, try to avoid murdering your wives.
