It seems Disney and Imagine Entertainment smells a big franchise, as while most of the time a studio picks up a screenplay and just tries to make a movie out of it, with Dave Andron’s The Runner, the House Of Mouse wants to simultaneously develop it as a film, a TV series, a video game, a graphic novel, and for mobile interactive content.
Quantum Of Solace helmer Marc Forster may direct the movie – or at least it’s being developed as a directing vehicle for him. So what’s it all about that’s gotten Disney and Imagine so excited? According to Deadline, The Runner’s premise is, ‘In the year 2027, Earth’s surface has been rendered uninhabitable due to a devastating attack. A group of survivors living in the Rocky Mountains have discovered a way to send a man back in time. While the volunteer departs under the guise of trying to stop the devastating attack, he has an ulterior motive: to save the love of his life.’
So it’s basically The Terminator, but with fewer cyborgs and a higer cheese factor.
It’s certainly an interesting idea to take an original (sort of) idea and develop it across a range of platforms simultaneously, although as it’s early days, we’ll have to see whether anything comes of any of the avenues they’re trying.