Matt Reeves and Shonda Rhimes Are Developing a Film and TV Adaptation of The Sci-Fi Thriller RECURSION

Netflix has landed the rights to Blake Crouch’s upcoming sci-fi thriller novel Recursion and there’s a great creative team coming together to develop it as both a film and a series. Filmmaker Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Planet of the Apes sequels) has jumped on board the project as has Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice). Before we go on, here’s a rundown of the fascinating story which comes from the guy who wrote the Wayward Pines trilogy:

Recursion is part save-the-world sci-fi thriller, part epic romance, as well as an intricate police procedural. The book explores what happens when a brilliant female scientist invents a powerful technology that allows people not just to reactivate their most visceral memories but to reinvent them entirely.  For some, it offers the chance to rewrite their entire lives. In the wrong hands, it will upend the world as we know it. 

This sounds like a great project with an intriguing story concept, and with this team of talent on board to develop it, I’m sure that whatever comes of it will provide some solid entertainment. Reeves had this to say about the project:

“Blake’s mind-bending novel presents an incredible opportunity to explore its expansive narrative simultaneously through both film and television. Netflix is uniquely suited for this ambitious undertaking and I can’t imagine a more exciting partner than the astonishingly talented Shonda Rhimes whose work I have admired for years.”

Shonda Rhimes added:

“Projects like this are why I came to Netflix. The opportunity to explore a multi-genre universe in innovative ways is extremely exciting. Matt and Blake both have the tremendous ability to build compelling characters and imaginative landscapes and I am thrilled to work alongside them.”

Blake Crouch had this to say:

“I have been a fan of Shonda’s and Matt’s work going back years. To have these titans of television and film working on something of mine is an incredible honor, and Netflix is the pitch-perfect home for people who want to adapt film and TV in the most innovative way possible.”

If you want a more in-depth description of the story, we have one here for you:

Barry Sutton is driving home from another long shift as an NYPD detective when the call comes in. A woman’s threatening to commit suicide, and someone’s got to try to talk her down. Only as he stands on the rooftop, mere inches away from her, does he realize that the woman is infected with False Memory Syndrome, a mysterious disease that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. When Barry is unable to save her, he’s rocked to his core–not only by her death, but the fear that he’s been exposed to this devastating illness.

Helena Smith is a brilliant but frustrated neuroscientist. If she could only get the funding, she’s sure she could build the ambitious device she’s long imagined–one that would allow people to preserve their most intense memories, and relive them whenever they want. So when a billionaire entrepreneur offers to bankroll her project, she jumps at the opportunity–even if there are some strange conditions attached.

As Helena’s efforts yield stunning results, Barry investigates the mystery behind the woman he failed to save. He finds himself on a journey as astonishing as it is terrifying, ultimately revealing the true danger posed by Helena’s invention–and a plot that could bring about the end of reality as we know it.

Weaving together Barry’s story and Helena’s in ways even the savviest reader will never guess, Recursion is a brilliant science-fiction thriller about time, memory, and the illusion of the present, built on our inability to escape the flashbulb moments that define us.

What do you think of the story concept for Recursion? Does this sound like a film and TV project that you’d enjoy watching?

Source: Deadline

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