Zenoscope and Lionsgate will be bringing the classic Wonderland graphic novels to television screens sometime next year.
As you may recall, Zenoscope has been looking for a studio to produce the franchise for some time now. In the end, it apparently came down to a bidding war among six studios, and the notoriously cheap Lionsgate came out on top. Lionsgate TV is also responsible for Mad Men and Weeds in addition to some other lesser known shows.
Wonderland is based on the classic stories of Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Lookingglass by Lewis Carrol.
The comics line tells the story of Alice’s daughter’s adventures, which are sexier and more kick-ass than the original.
The story is told in a trilogy of graphic novels: Return to Wonderland, Escape from Wonderland, and Beyond Wonderland, all of which were created by Joe Brusha, Ralpha Tedesco, and Raven Gregory, who also founded the label under which the books are printed.
The creative team is now searching for a lead writer to be head up the adaptation of the books for television and an established actress to lead the cast.
Lionsgate has already brought on Brian Robbins as executive producer. You may remember he also exec produced the recently finished Smallville series.
“As soon as I read the graphic novels, I knew there was something great there for TV,” Lionsgate TV Group president Kevin Beggs told THR in an interview on the sidelines of SDCC. “Brian Robbins was my first call, and he saw the same potential I did. Brian’s expertise, coupled with Ralph and Joe’s exceptional reimagining of the Alice in Wonderland story, is a powerful combination.�”
“I was really drawn to the visuals; they’re dark, intense and sexual in a really provocative way,” Robbins said of the graphic novels. “I love that it’s a mother-daughter story; that’s what really drew me to it. In the same way that [Smallville’s] Clark had a similar relationship with his father, there’s a parallel here. It’s a really great retelling of the Wonderland story… There’s an opportunity to take something that has really great pre-awareness and spin it like we did with Smallville.”
This is Zenoscopes first foray into televisino adaptation, but it is currently working on securing development for three feature films based on some of their other properties. No production or release dates have been announced, but if it doesn’t hit any delays, we would likely see production begin next summer for a fall 2013 premier.
