In what might be the most surpising news I’ve heard about the film to date, Roland Emmerich is developing a TV Series based off his latest film 2012, which is still over a week away from being released. Emmerich is reportedly already in talks with ABC to bring the disaster film to the small screen as a post-apocalyptic drama with the working title “2013”. Original, I know. The show would be a sequel/spin-off to the big budget film produced and directed by Emmerich, but I don’t want to spoil anything, so if you want to hear more about the plot and premise, head on over to Entertainment Weekly, who broke the story today.
TV sequels and spin offs based off films aren’t that surprising in general (See: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Stargate, M*A*S*H), but this one definitely caught me off guard. Post-apocalyptic television series are rare because they are hard to do and expensive. The film itself doesn’t seem to have the buzz worthy of even discussing sequel options pre-release. It was removed from the summer schedule and most people talk about the crazy special effects, not the story.
All that aside, I kind of like the idea. I’ve always been a Emmerich fan, so the fact he’s looking to stay involved excites me. I don’t think I’d watch “2013” if it was just the studio pushing it and not him. He’s already had success with the Stargate franchise (you may remember he directed that flick), though technically he is not involved with the series himself. Would you watch a TV series sequel to 2012? Would it be better as a straight theatrical film sequel?
2012 opens nationwide November 13th. You can discuss these updates to the viral in the comments below, or on our forum. Also check out the MovieViral 2012 page for more info on the film and its viral campaign.