Studios are always on the lookout for a possible new sci-fi franchise and the latest one Fox has set its sights on is reclusive writer John Twelve Hawk’s Fourth Realm trilogy. THR reports the studio has bought the screen rights to the books and set Watchmen screenwriter, Alex Tse, to handle the screenplay.
The first book, The Traveler, centres on a woman called Maya, who lives in a US society run by a secret organisation seeking to control the population via constant observation. Rebelling against these constraints are an almost extinct group of people called Travelers, who can project their spirit into other dimensions, and their protectors, called Harlequins. Maya reluctantly becomes one of these Harlequins and must protect two naive Traveler brothers.
While the book was well received when it was released on 2006, being compared to Dan Brown, The Matrix and Star Wars, much of the interest in it was generated by the stories surrounding the insanely private author. John Twelve Hawks is a pseudonym, and both his editor and agent say they’ve never met him in person. Communication is said to involve the use of voice scramblers and satellite phones, with stand-ins used during book tours. Who knows, maybe the secrecy is because he really does think the government is out to get him.