The teaser trailer for Showtime's update of The Man Who Fell to Earth has dropped. The series will be adapted from Walter Tevis' novel of the same name from 1963, which is about an alien who holds the fate of human evolution in his hands arriving on Earth. The series was developed by Star Trek (2009) screenwriter Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, who wrote the screenplay for Rachel Getting Married and is the daughter of Sidney Lumet. The Man Who Fell to Earth is expected to debut on Showtime in Spring 2022.
This will be the third major adaptation of the Walter Tevis work. The first was the arthouse sci-fi film directed by Nicholas Roeg and starring David Bowie. While the film wasn't particularly well received by the mainstream establishment of the time, it became a major cult classic and has since been released on home media as part of the Criterion Collection. In 1987, a failed pilot for a Man Who Fell to Earth television series was turned into a TV movie starring Lewis Smith, Beverly D'Angelo, and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Wil Wheaton.
Showtime just dropped the official trailer for the new The Man Who Fell to Earth. The short thirty-second spot introduces both Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays the titular character, and Naomie Harris, who plays Justin Falls, the character who will teach him about Earth society and customs. Not much is revealed about the plot of the series, but it does give a taste of the dynamic between the two acting powerhouses. Check out the video below:
In addition to Ejiofor and Harris, The Man Who Fell to Earth stars Clarke Peters, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olayele and Jimmi Simpson. Recurring cast members will include Josh Herdman and Kate Mulgrew. Both Simpson and Mulgrew are Star Trek alums who have provided voices for the Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, in which Mulgrew reprises her Star Trek: Voyager role of Captain Kathryn Janeway.
The distinct and quite dissimilar storytelling instincts of the two creators behind The Man Who Fell to Earth are sure to create an interesting blend. Whether or not they can create something that stands up to either the source novel or the David Bowie adaptation remains to be seen. However, both Ejiofor and Harris are well-respected actors with Oscar nominations under their belt, so hopefully their combined power will be more than enough to push the series over the edge.
Source: Showtime