Earning $157.1 million worldwide on an $80 million budget back in 2010, The Book of Eli from Rogue One writer Gary Whitta was a sizeable hit, and continuing the Star Wars connections a small screen prequel series is about to hit the marketplace starring John Boyega, fresh off ‘They Cloned Tyrone’ opposite Jamie Foxx and with sci-fi romance ‘The Freshening’ from director Cathy Yan up ahead.
The neo-Western Book of Eli movie takes place 30 years after a nuclear catastrophe caused an ecocide. It revolves around Eli (Washington), a nomad who fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity’s salvation.
Details about the TV series are sketchy, but I hear it is set 30 years prior to the events in the film, which would put it around the time of the nuclear event or its immediate aftermath.
This marks one of the highest-profile, star-driven, IP-based packages to hit the premium TV marketplace since the end of the Hollywood strikes. While there have been a handful of deals so far, buying has been slow out of the gate. It is expected to pick up in early 2024, with The Book of Eli an example of the caliber of auspices and premise a TV package needs to stand out.
We caught up with Gary Whitta back in 2022, a chat you can listen to below.
