Deadline has reported the sci-fi alternate history WWII novel trilogy Axis of Time is getting a TV series adaptation from Occupation director Luke Sparke.
The trilogy was written by author John Birmingham and followed a multinational American-led armada in the near-future being sent back to World War II after an experiment gone awry. As they link up with WWII naval forces in the Pacific, social values and norms clash as the WWII veterans deal with both the advanced technology and the mixed races of the modern coalition, but the presence of the modern military has thrown time off course and threatens the very future.
The trilogy consisted of the books Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact, all of which the Axis of Time series will cover. Sparke and co-writer Jay Thames are leading production of the series with Carly Imrie and Carmel Imrie producing alongside Trimax Media’s Alan Glazier (Get Smart) and Zachary Garred (Occupation Rainfall).
“I am stoked to see Luke and his crew turn this favorite, much loved story into something new and madly exciting,” said Axis of Time author John Birmingham. “His Occupation films are enormous fun and his plans to blast Weapons of Choice onto the screen promise even more. More fun, more action, more head-spinning concepts and adventures. I’ve always had a movie of this series running somewhere in my head and reading his script, seeing the artwork, it was like it suddenly exploded all around me.”
“When I read John’s Weapons of Choice on its release back in 2004, I knew immediately it would make an amazing TV series,” said Sparke. “That book and the subsequent trilogy became my Catcher in the Rye. When I reached out to John with my ideas, I got to work developing the first season. Five years later, we have a series that is extremely relevant and timely with everything going on in the world. There’s never been a better time to look back on our history and see how far we have come, let alone throwing our current culture 80 years back in time and see the two worlds collide. This series is very dear to my heart and will developed for the screen with loving care.”
SEE ALSO: Read our Occupation Rainfall review here
The official synopsis for the Weapons of Choice book reads:
The impossible has spawned the unthinkable. A military experiment in the year 2021 has thrust an American-led multinational armada back to 1942, right into the middle of the U.S. naval task force speeding toward Midway Atoll—and what was to be the most spectacular U.S. triumph of the entire war.
Thousands died in the chaos, but the ripples had only begun. For these veterans of Pearl Harbor—led by Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, and Spruance—have never seen a helicopter, or a satellite link, or a nuclear weapon. And they’ve never encountered an African American colonel or a British naval commander who was a woman and half-Pakistani. While they embrace the armada’s awesome firepower, they may find the twenty-first century sailors themselves far from acceptable.
Initial jubilation at news the Allies would win the war is quickly doused by the chilling realization that the time travelers themselves—by their very presence—have rendered history null and void. Celebration turns to dread when the possibility arises that other elements of the twenty-first century task force may have also made the trip—and might now be aiding Yamamoto and the Japanese.
What happens next is anybody’s guess—and everybody’s nightmare…
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.