One Big Picture Boards Frankenstein Series

U.K.-based One Big Picture has joined BlackBox Multimedia and Stone Village TV to co-produce an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus.

One Big Picture Co-Founder Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders, His Dark Materials, Black Mirror, Robin Hood) is now confirmed to direct the series. Bradley McManus (Bodyguard of Lies) is on board to write the series.

This version of the classic novel will capture the behaviors and obsessions of a scientist exploring the thread between life and death in the context of the contemporary scientific discoveries of the last decade—following a year of global dependence on scientific invention and breakthrough. The series will stay true to the original work and characters with added experiential elements to update the story for modern international viewers.

Scott Steindorff, managing partner at Stone Village TV, said: “Frankenstein is my favorite book to understand life. It’s so timely and Otto and Bradley have created such a unique take on this adaptation.”

Giuliano Papadia, CEO and creative director of BlackBox Multimedia, said: “With Frankenstein, Mary Shelley dramatized difference in the most absolute way possible, embodied in Victor Frankenstein’s Creature. It is to the Creature we want to return, to the Creature not as a monster, but as a living body with a voice. Otto’s talent and One Big Picture’s expertise will further cement this adaption as a show that will entertain, inspire and move viewers around the world in equal measure.”

Otto Bathurst, founder of One Big Picture and series director, added: “We are inspired by this opportunity to take a really deep dive into the original text and deliver the arrestingly relevant truth that Shelley has so powerfully embedded in this incredible story. To be able to deliver a modern and true version of this ever-more-pertinent tale is an undertaking that we are extremely excited by.”