It’s enough to make your head explode with excitement. David Cronenberg’s 80’s classic Scanners is being adapted and reimagined as a series for HBO Max.
Five years since the idea of a small-screen Scanners was first mooted as a project for Michael Ellenberg’s Media Res and Bron Studios, THR are reporting that it’s now a go, with Emmy award-winner William Bridges (Stranger Things) writing the series as well as acting as showrunner, while Yann Demange (Lovecraft Country, and the criminally underrated White Boy Rick) will direct.
Released in 1981, and featuring the kind of VHS cover that would scare the bejeezus out of any unsuspecting kids, Scanners revolves around a group of people with telekinetic powers called “scanners”, who are hunted down by ConSec, an organisation who wants to use them for their own nefarious purposes.
Executive produced by Cronenberg, this new iteration is described as a visceral thriller set in the mind-bending world of the film, which itself spawned two sequels and two spin-offs. It will focus on two women living on the fringes of modern society who are pursued by relentless agents with unimaginable powers and thus must learn to work together to topple a vast conspiracy determined to bring them to heel.
Let us know whether you’re excited to revisit the world of Scanners, or if the thought of it gives you a worrying headache by visiting our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
