25 books that need to be adapted for TV right now
By Shawn Lealos
10. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is another comic book property that received a movie version, although changes were made that did not make creator Alan Moore happy.
A new character – Tom Sawyer – was added because Fox didn’t think American audiences would care for a movie with all British literary characters. It also didn’t help that Sean Connery, who played Allan Quatermain, didn’t seem to care about the film at all, as it showed in his performance.
While that movie was a huge disappointment to fans and movie goers alike, this is something that could work brilliantly as an adaptation for TV.
Whether on an American premium network like AMC or Starz or even on the BBC, this is something that could work as a serialized television series. There was a deal in place back in 2013 for Fox to bring it to television but it never materialized.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen brought literary characters to a modern era and had them working for British Intelligence to help protect the best interests of the Empire.
These included Allan Quatermain (King Solomon’s Mines), Mina Murray (Dracula), Captain Nemo (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, and more. Similar to a series like Penny Dreadful, this could introduce new audiences to true heroes of classic literature in a fun escapist manner.