To recap the week’s events in the world of “V”, Variety made the announcement that Scott Peters, creator of The 4400, along with Jace Hall from HD Films, will be developing a new series version of “V” for ABC.
“Whenever I mention ‘V’ to anybody, they still have a lot of good memories about the original movie and series,” Peters explained. “Everybody has that imagery of their uniforms, or the Visitor eating a hamster. It’s a science fiction icon and too good to pass up.”
Whereas the original offered up the alien threat as an allegory for the Holocaust, with the Visitors serving as modern-day Nazis, Peters’ take on the material, according to a follow-up story on E!.com, “will completely revamp the original, including changing the allusions from the Holocaust to 9/11.”
While Peters says the new version, like the original, will still “focus on what happens when the masses have blind faith in their leaders,” the focus will be, reports Variety, on Erica Evans, “a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son who’s got problems. When the aliens arrive, her son gloms on to them – causing tension within the family. As in the original ‘V,’ several storylines will unfold simultaneously.”
“V” creator Kenneth Johnson, who recently penned the novel “V”: The Second Generation (from Tor Books), had spent the past few years trying to interest Warner Bros. and the networks in a new incarnation, before pursuing a big screen version instead.
“I was convinced that ‘V’ should be a movie,” he explained to E! News. “I discovered that Warner controlled the TV rights. I, as the creator, own the motion picture rights to ‘V.’ Virtually all of the majors wanted to do it… and pay me a lot of money to write and produce a $200 million tentpole.
“Warners felt they wanted to develop [a new TV project] and had Scott write a script,” he added, referring to the announcement of the Peters version. “And now they announced they have a development deal with ABC for a potential pilot for a potential series. But that’s what it is, development for a potential. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to get ‘V’ done the way I want it done so I can make sure the integrity, quality and substance of the original is maintained.” 