Sony’s Crackle is developing a sci-fi series reimagining of Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, which is set in the future where Earth is a distant memory.
The project is described as an exploration of what it means to be human on a space odyssey where the survival of the human race hangs in the balance and will explore themes of race, immigration, and colonization much like the book.
Cameron Litvack (Quantico, Grimm, Charmed) serves as writer and showrunner of the Heart of Darkness series. He will also executive produce alongside Branden Morgan and Tony Giglio.
Conrad’s original 1899 story centered around a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story’s narrator Charles Marlow, who is obsessed with the ivory trader, Kurtz. The central theme in the story was the idea that there is little difference between so-called civilized people and those described as savages in the story — creating parallels between London and Africa as places of darkness — as the novella raises questions about imperialism and racism.
This isn’t the first time Heart of Darkness has been adapted since the novella was published. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Academy Award-winning Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now was inspired by Conrad’s story and starred Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando in leading roles.
Crackle’s other dramas include the recently renewed StartUp and The Oath, which debuted in March and has been renewed for a second season. Crackle also airs the comedies SuperMansion and the series adaptation of Snatch.
