AR Content has optioned the TV rights to John Shirley’s action-thriller book series “The Specialist”.
Penned under the name John Cutter, the eleven-book series previously (and loosely) served as the basis for the 1994 Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone and James Woods-led action film of the same name.
AR Content has landed the screen rights to all the books in the series, with plans to bring the material into the present day, shifting the action to the modern era of drone warfare.
In this take, the titular character is a morally conflicted former military drone operator haunted by his past who uses cutting-edge technology against titanically dangerous institutions of criminality or oppression.
The company is presently looking for a showrunner and is in discussions at present. Alexander Rodnyansky (Laszlo Nemes’ “Orphan,” “Notes of a True Criminal”) will produce the project, which will adopt an international co-production and independent model.
Shirley has multiple screenwriting credits to his name ranging from 1994’s “The Crow” to “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.
Source: Deadline
