Amazon buys The Peripheral from Nolan and Joy’s Kilter films
Westworld’s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have landed at Amazon with their new technological drama The Peripheral.
The Peripheral is based on a William Gibson novel of the same name adapted by Oscar winner Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan). Deadline reports it will be directed by Vincenzo Natali, who directed two episodes of Westworld (not to mention six episodes of Hannibal and his original film Splice.)
The Peripheral follows Flynne Fisher, a woman who lives with her brother Burton in a near-future world on the brink of collapse. The plot follows two timelines – Flynne’s and one 70 years later in London.
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Flynne and Burton take jobs as virtual security, unknowingly providing services for people from the future. When Flynne witnesses a crime while on the job, timelines collide and her idea of reality is severely challenged.
The story is unusually dense and complex, interweaving two timelines and various characters and conspiracies, as well as potential future histories. It will be interesting to see how it translates to the screen.
Natali is a natural choice to direct this sort of content, having proved himself adept at working with issues of technology, alternate realities, dark narratives, and morally ambiguous material. He has a talent for drawing you in despite the dark subject matter, of compelling you to look even though you want to look away.
His work on Hannibal pushed the boundaries of what you could show on network television and how it could be shown – creating new standards for the filming and presentation of mature content. Needless to say, I am a fan. I love Natali’s work and unique vision. I love the projects he chooses to work on and his original work as a writer.
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As for William Gibson, this will be my opportunity to get to know his work. I have yet to read anything he’s written, but this synopsis intrigues me.