Neal Stephensons sci-fi classicSnow Crash is getting the TV treatment for HBO Max. Writer Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street)and director Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) are tackling the adaptation. Stephensons novel covers a wide range of topics, including history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, memetics, and philosophy.

Deadline has the scoop on theSnow CrashTV series, stating that Michael Bacall will write the adaptation and serve as co-showrunner with Angela Robinson, while Joe Cornish directs. Frank Marshall will serve as producer. Heres the books synopsis:

Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparisona writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer andSnow Crashis such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzos CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse hes a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus thats striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse.

I havent readSnow Crash, but this sounds similar toReady Player One, which doesnt get me very excited. However, Snow Crash pre-dates Ready Player One by years and is considered one of the most important science fiction novels of the past few decades. So of course lesser work has ripped it off. Also,, Joe Cornish should have a much bigger career by now, so Im always happy to see him with a new project.

A potentialSnow Crash adaptation has been a dream for many for years, but the novels sprawling nature has complicated things. Cornish actually wrote a script for a feature film adaptation, and Stephenson loved it, calling Cornishs take on the material amazing. But it looks like everyone involved have now decided to use TV to bringSnow Crash to life rather than try to cram everything into a feature film. Last year, it was announced that a TV adaptation was headed to Amazon, but thats no longer the case, and the series is destined for HBO Max.

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'Snow Crash' TV Series in the Works at HBO Max - /FILM