Summary
- Fans should be galvanized for Apple's adaptation of Neuromancer due to the stacked cast and experienced showrunner.
- Apple has a proven track record with sci-fi series, putting Neuromancer' s adaptation in trusted hands.
- Neuromancer could lead to more seasons on Apple TV+ if successful, similar to Foundation's series expansion.
Neuromancer is one of the most beloved sci-fi stories of all time, and yet Apple's adaptation of the show doesn't seem to be getting any hype at all. It could be too early in the production process for the average fan, but there should be more excitement for a long-anticipated adaptation to finally hit screens. After all, Apple has shown they know what they are doing with science fiction, at least when it comes to television.
Since they began producing scripted television in 2019, Apple has continuously hit sci-fi shows out of the park with series like Foundation, Silo, Murderbot, and Dark Matter proving their understanding of the genre. Apple TV+ may not have the subscriber base of bigger players like Netflix and Disney+, but people should be more galvanized than they currently are, that's for sure.
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What Is William Gibson's Neuromancer?
Only One Of The Most Influential Novels Of The 1980s
On July 1, 1984, Ace Books released William Gibson's Neuromancer with little-to-no hype from the publishing world. However, in the pre-internet days of the 1980s, word of mouth was king, and people who read Neuromancer loved it. Gibson's debut novel quickly became a runaway success that delighted critics and fans alike. It won awards, kickstarted Gibson's career overnight, and continues to influence science fiction (and more specifically the cyberpunk subgenre) to this day.
It follows a hacker named Henry Dorsett Case who gets invovled in a massive heist and is so influential to the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction that it is routinely considered to be both the "quintessential" and "archetypal" book that essentially all cyberpunk stories have referenced in the years since. Gibson also returned to the same universe, releasing two more books connected to Neuromancer to officially complete the Sprawl trilogy. For years, it was considered one of the great unfilmable sci-fi stories alongside the likes of Dune and Ender's Game. Like those stories and others, it is now getting a long-awaited adaptation.
The Cast For Apple TV+'s Neuromancer Adaptation Is Stacked
Plenty Of Familiar Faces Are Involved
The main character of Case is being played by Callum Turner, perhaps best known as Theseus Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts films. Turner has also featured in highly acclaimed series like Masters of the Air, War & Peace, and The Capture. Joseph Lee of Searching, Beef, and Materialists fame will be joining him as Hideo, as will The Tender Bar's Briana Middleton as Molly. Rounding out the cast is a whole host of familar character actors like Mark Strong, Clémence Poésy, Peter Sarsgaard, Dane DeHaan, and Max Irons. All of this is to say that Neuromancer is going to be getting the big-budgeted, well-acted adaptation fans have been waiting decades for. Apple isn't skimping out on making sure the cast list is stacked with talent, that's for sure.
Perhaps even more importantly is the fact that Graham Roland is the co-creater/showrunner of the series. Roland is the co-creator of Amazon's Jack Ryan and, crucially, is the creator of the criminally underrated AMC series Dark Winds. It is Roland's creation of Dark Winds in particular that should have fans salivating for his take on Neuromancer as it oozes with style and dramatic tension at every concievable turn.
Apple Has A Compelling Track Record Of Nailing Science Fiction Television Series
Here's To Hoping Neuromancer Adds To This List
Back when Apple TV+ was in its early infancy, they greenlit Foundation, based on the Issac Asimov book series of the same name. Like Neuromancer, Foundation tells one of the most enduring stories in the history of science fiction while blending a cast of beloved actors (Lee Pace, Jared Harris) with new faces (Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey). Foundation, in many ways, sets the template for Neuromancer quite perfectly. If Neuromancer performs well for Apple, they could easily order more seasons of the series based on the other two books of the Sprawl trilogy, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.
In recent years, Apple has doubled down on their sci-fi offerings, bringing numerous series to their streaming service that are well regarded by fans and critics alike. Graham Yost's Silo adaptation, based on Hugh Howey's book trilogy of the same name, immediately comes to mind. Dark Matter and the recently released Murderbot also serve as examples of the streaming service's commitment to being the go-to place for science-fiction narratives.
Fans should be excited about Neuromancer finally getting the adaptation is has long deserved, but time will tell if Apple is able to pull of the beloved cyberpunk story or not.
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