The screenwriter Andrew Niccol imagined in 1997 a futuristic society in which human beings were divided into two categories: the valid, who are genetically perfect, and the invalid, often conceived naturally and, therefore, with more possibilities. of having genetic defects. Now, this model of society could return because Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, the creators of Homeland, are preparing the television return of Gattaca, the science fiction classic.
The initial idea, as reported by Deadline, is to place the action a generation after the events in the film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law, at a time when science is so advanced that humanity can even control in which direction it wants to evolve as a species.
This genetic engineering leads the world, as in the movie, to be divided into two classes: that of those who can make both the bodies and the futures of their children even before their birth, and that of those created in the old fashioned way and who they can only choose to belong to the lowest social class.
For now, Gordon and Gansa are still finalizing the details of the deal. This sequel to Gattaca is developed from Sony Pictures Television, the main audiovisual producer and distributor without its own content platform, for the Showtime channel, the same channel that commissioned and broadcast Homeland in the United States and which has productions such as Yellowjackets or Billions. Danny DeVito, who produced the 1990s film, will serve as executive producer.
Gattaca, curiously, was a flop at the time: it had a budget of 36 million and in the US it barely raised a third of this amount. However, it gained cult status among moviegoers and sci-fi lovers because of the cold and listless society imagined by Niccol, also the film’s director, and the themes it dealt with, from eugenics to transhumanism.
And, taking into account that we are getting closer to the dystopia of à la carte babies and genetic engineering as a tool to differentiate between the wealthiest sectors of society and the rest of the population, the initiative to return Gattaca to the first Hollywood shot is especially timely.
