Last we heard, Andy Muschietti had been on board a feature film adaptation of Stephen King‘s short story “The Jaunt,” but it looks like those plans have changed over the years.
Deadline reports that Dave Erickson, the co-creator of AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead,” is now turning “The Jaunt” into a TV series as part of an overall deal with MRC Television.
“We’ve long admired Dave’s visionary creative work and are thrilled to welcome him to MRC,” Elise Henderson, President of MRC Television, said in a statement shared by Deadline. “A true master of his craft, he’s the ideal partner to build upon the work of Stephen King, and create and develop more originals as the studio continues to expand.”
The Jaunt was published in 1981 and became part of the Skeleton Crew collection in 1985. Wikipedia explains, “The story takes place early in the 24th century, when the technology for teleportation, referred to as “Jaunting”, is commonplace, allowing for instantaneous transportation across enormous distances, even to other planets in the solar system.
“The key is that travelers must be under anesthesia for the short journey, or terrible things happen to the mind of those being jaunted around the solar system. Time stands still and one’s brain implodes with too much time to think in an absence of external stimulation. Bad things happen.”