WORLD WAR Z Director Marc Forster Is Turning Revenge Thriller NINES Into a TV Series
World War Z and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster is jumping into a crazy little revenge story for TV, and it sounds like exactly the kind of anti-hero thriller that could hook viewers fast.
Forster is set to direct a television adaptation of Jamie Scallion’s upcoming novel Nines, a revenge thriller centered on a man locked away in Britain’s most secure prison who still has unfinished business on the outside.
The series is being developed by Forster and Renée Wolfe through their indie banner 2DUX², alongside Me+You Productions, the company run by Krish Majumdar and Richard Yee.
The project landed with them after what the team described as a “fiercely competitive auction,” which makes sense once you hear the premise.
Transworld has already picked up world English-language rights to Nines and its sequel, even though the books aren’t set to publish until 2028 and 2029.
Fremantle, which has a first-look deal with Me+You, will handle global sales for the TV series.
Nines follows a character who is an orphan, a pianist, a father, a widower, and a killer. He’s serving a life sentence for murdering one of the men responsible for killing his wife, but he isn’t done. He wants the others dead, and he wants to find the son they took from him.
While in prison, Nines is shaped by Suranga, a master forger and zen master who turns him into the kind of weapon that can finish the job.
The catch is that Nines first has to escape into a world that has moved on without him.
Forster will direct the first block of episodes and will stay “closely involved throughout the series, helping shape its visual language and creative tone,” according to the team.
Casting is now underway, and the producers are also speaking with writers.
Forster is best known for his film work, including World War Z with Brad Pitt, the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, Finding Neverland, and A Man Called Otto. He has also worked in TV before, directing two episodes of Prime Video’s Hand of God, which starred Ron Perlman as a corrupt judge dealing with a breakdown.
Me+You Productions is best known for Dominic Savage’s female-led drama anthology I Am… for Channel 4. The series earned Kate Winslet a BAFTA, and another installment is on the way with Nicola Coughlan and Joe Cole.
Scallion’s road to Nines is pretty cool as well. Before writing thrillers, he was the lead singer of the rock band Officer Kicks.
He later collaborated with Irish band The Script on the YA book series The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diaries, and in 2025 co-wrote The Last Song on Earth with broadcaster Dave Berry.
Forster and Wolfe said Nines Season 1 should “feel like an event – and the beginning of something much larger.”
They added, “We want Nines to strike a very particular balance of intriguing, emotional characters juxtaposed with fresh and relevant action sequences that further the depth of the story,” and “What excites us is that Nines feels built for the screen, with a character and a world that can keep expanding.”
Majumdar and Yee described Nines as a “propulsive, funny and unexpectedly moving thriller.”
“Having a world-class filmmaker like Marc directing is a real coup,” they said. “We can’t wait to work with Jamie on this adaptation of his stunning debut.. We believe Nines has every chance of becoming an iconic anti-hero for the screen.”
Between Forster steering the look and tone, the prison-break revenge angle, and a main character built for long-form storytelling, Nines sounds like it has the goods to become a slick, character-driven TV thriller.
This is one to keep an eye on, especially for fans of revenge stories with a sharp edge and a little heart buried under all the violence.
Source: Deadline