Ridley Scott Set to Produce 3001: THE FINAL ODYSSEY for SyFy
The SyFy Channel is set to develop a miniseries adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's novel 3001: The Final Odyssey, which, as you may know, is the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The series will be written by screenwriter Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean and Collateral). He will also serve as executive producer alongside Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker (Numbers, The Good Wife).
3001: The Final Odyssey is the fourth and final book in Clarke's legendary sci-fi franchise, and it follows the character Frank Poole, who is the astronaut that was killed by the HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here's a description of the story:
"One thousand years after the Jupiter mission to explore the mysterious Monolith had been destroyed, after Dave Bowman was transformed into the Star Child, Frank Poole drifted in space, frozen and forgotten, leaving the supercomputer HAL inoperable. But now Poole has returned to life, awakening in a world far different from the one he left behind–and just as the Monolith may be stirring once again…."
According to a story description on Wikipedia, Poole’s body is “discovered in the Kuiper belt by a comet-collecting space tug named the Goliath, and revived.” Poole is then returned to Earth in the year 3001, where the world is very, very different from when he first left it.
"Some of its notable features include the BrainCap, a brain-computer interface technology; genetically-engineered dinosaur servants; a space drive; and four gigantic space elevators located evenly around the Equator. Human beings have also colonised the Jovian moons Ganymede and Callisto. TMA-1, the black monolith found on the Moon in 1999, has been brought to Earth in 2006 and installed in front of the United Nations Building in New York City."
The story takes place over the course of thirty years, and this is what Scott had to say in a statement to TVLine:
“I have always been a fan of Clarke’s extraordinary Odyssey series, and certainly Kubrick’s adaptation of 2001. I am thrilled to be part of bringing that legacy to audiences and continuing the great cinematic tradition that this story and its creators deserve.”
With Scott producing the miniseries there's a chance that that this could be a good adaptation. Personally, I would have much rather seen the story developed as a feature film with Scott directing, but this SyFy miniseries will have to do.