‘Battle Royale’ series in development at Netflix, says report
By Ryan General
Netflix has greenlit the development of a brand new series based on the 2000 cult classic Japanese thriller “Battle Royale,” according to a new report.
Limited details: Citing “trusted and proven” sources privy to the project, Giant Freakin Robot revealed that the streaming giant is planning on creating its own adaptation based on the hit intellectual property. Details about the project are still under wraps and with the current strikes by actors and writers in Hollywood, it may take a while before actual production on the upcoming show begins.
About the film: The original 2000 film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, centers around a group of teenagers forced to fight one another for their lives in a deadly competition implemented by a fictional totalitarian Japanese regime.
Following its international release, the film quickly gained popularity worldwide while also attracting its fair share of controversy due to its intense and brutal themes. Fear of potential lawsuits prevented the film’s distribution in the U.S. for several years until its first theatrical run in Los Angeles in 2011.
About the original book: The top-grossing film was based on the controversial 1999 novel of the same name by author Koushan Takami.
While completed in 1996, the book faced considerable obstacles before it reached readers, with its themes concerning a corrupt government and the portrayal of students engaged in deadly combat generating backlash and subsequent delays in publishing.
This announcement follows a number of previous attempts to adapt the property’s gripping narrative for Western audiences.
Previous adaptation attempts: New Line Cinema’s initial plans to make its own version in 2006 faced significant backlash upon announcement, with many voicing concerns over potential changes to the original work to cater to a broader audience.
The project was officially shelved in 2012 due to issues in securing the necessary rights as well as the emergence of “The Hunger Games” novel in 2008 and its subsequent film that drew comparisons to “Battle Royale.” The CW network also expressed interest in exploring an American television show adaptation in 2012, but plans for the project similarly failed to take shape.
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