Westworld executive producer Denise Thé is officially in the process of developing her upcoming Sphere adaption with HBO. Sphere got its start as a 1987 sci-fi novel written by Michael Crichton. The first adaptation of the book came over a decade after its release. The 1998 film starred Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson and became a notorious box office flop.
According to Variety, Sphere will be revived yet again, this time by HBO as a TV series. The show is currently in development and is already stacked with all star behind-the-scenes team. Thé will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Her previous writing credits mostly come from procedurals like Person of Interest, Medium, and Cold Case. Thé will also be working alongside Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Film, as well as Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s Team Downey. The Downeys have prior experience working with HBO on the Perry Mason reboot.
Even though the Sphere movie wasn't well-received, this new series could be a win for HBO. The name is familiar to many, and the creative team is exciting. Additionally, Thé's experience on Westworld will undoubtedly give her a leg up in this endeavor, as will the variety of other shows she's worked on in the past. It will be interesting to see how audiences react to a Sphere TV show. It could well be the adaptation those who were displeased with the 1998 film have been waiting for. However, they'll have to wait until Sphere releases to find out for sure.
Source: Variety