The Forever War is a classic 1974 science fiction novel penned by Joe Haldeman about an interstellar conflict between humanity and the alien Taurans.
Due to the time distortion associated with deep space travel, protagonist William Mandella is present during both the first and last battle of the thousand year old war of attrition.
A novel that illustrates the futility of protracted conflicts, The Forever War won all major science fiction awards including the Hugo, Nebula and Locus.
The Forever War has been eyed by Hollywood directors for years, especially veteran genre helmer Ridley Scott, who apparently wanted to adapt the novel for well over two decades.
Recently, DW Harper was tapped to write a new draft of The Forever War for Ridley Scott, Fox 2000 and Scott Free. This is the fifth draft of the screenplay, with the original screenplay authored by Blade Runner scribe David Peoples.
As Deadline tells us, the hope is to get the project moving with a script by Harper, who most recently penned All You Need Is Kill, the sci-fi film that is in production with Tom Cruise starring and Doug Liman directing.
“Back in 2008 told me it was ‘a science-fiction epic, a bit of The Odyssey by way of ‘Blade Runner,’ built on a brilliant, disorienting premise,” explained Deadline’s Mike Fleming.
“Scott first pursued the book not long after it was published, but the rights were unavailable for a long time. Oscar-winning Raiders Of The Lost ArkVFX wiz Richard Edlund originally bought the rights with the intention of making his directing debut on the film, but it never got off the ground and finally Scott’s home studio was able to make a deal.”
Harper, who co-wrote the upcoming Hansel And Gretel Witch Hunters, is also adapting Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series for director Roland Emmerich.
