It was reported last year that Village Roadshow Entertainment Group had acquired the rights to classic computer game Myst and were planning to turn it into “a multi-platform universe including film, scripted and unscripted television content.” And now, all these months later, we have learned who will be doing the hard work in that deal.
Thor and X-Men: First Class writer Ashley Edward Miller has been given the job to pen the pilot and serve as show runner for the proposed Myst series. While Miller’s job has an emphasis on a TV show, Village Roadshow is still planning to develop film around the property.
Myst originally hit the computer screen in 1993 and became a massive success that sold over 15 million copies worldwide. It tasked the player with exploring a mysterious and haunting little island full of ancient mythology and scientific wonders. The first-person game was heavy on puzzles and provided little back story from the outset. Later books and game sequels would provide a whole lot of exposition that revolves around a scientifically-advanced civilization called the D’ni. It sounds like the TV show will also heavily feature the D’ni.
Honestly, Myst is great source material for a TV show. It will provide the sort of slow drip-drip-drip storytelling that did so well with shows like Lost and Westworld. It also has a lot of room to grow because, like I said, the story isn’t what people think of when they think of Myst. While the plot was there, the games were always more about exploring and solving puzzles. Therefore a TV has a lot of elbow room to expand and improve what story there was in the games.
I think Miller is a good choice for Myst. He has tackled some big productions and also produced shows like Teminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles* and Lore so stepping up to be show runner seems like a logical next step. I am sure he is knee deep in Myst novels right now. Hopefully he is also firing up his old PC.