Last September,Akiva Goldsmanstruck a first-look deal at MGM that called for him to write and executive produce a series adaptation ofLarry Niven’s classic sci-fi novelRingworld, and in a recent interview with Collider, he revealed thatGames of ThroneshelmerAlan Taylorwill direct the pilot.
First published in 1970,Ringworldwas followed byThe Ringworld Engineersin 1980,The Ringworld Thronein 1996,Ringworld’s Childrenin 2004 and 2012’sFate of the Worlds, which Niven co-wrote withEdward M. Lerner.Fate of Worldsalso serves a sequel to the four books of theFleet of Worldsseries, which is set in the same Known Space universe as theRingworldbooks.
Ringworldtells the story of Louis Gridley Wu, who is celebrating his 200th birthday in a technologically advanced Earth in the distant future. Perpetually bored, he accepts an offer to join a young woman and two aliens on a thriller journey to explore Ringworld, the remote artificial ring beyond “Known Space," and uncover the mysteries of Ring.
Goldsman told Collider he’s actively working on writing theRingworldpilot, having just hopped off a notes call with Amazon and MGM executives. “Alan Taylor is attached to direct, and hopefully that will turn into an actual set of moving pictures, but God knows,” said Goldsman, who like all writer-producers in Hollywood, is no stranger to seeing projects get stuck in development hell.Ringworldhas been in the works at Amazon since September 2017, and it appears to finally be moving forward now that Goldsman has commenced writing and Taylor is onboard to direct.
Amazon has certainly been focused on finding its next breakout hit, investing hundreds of millions into aLord of the Ringsseries and another based on theWheel of Timebooks. The streamer hasUtopiaandThe Underground Railroadon the horizon. Goldsman declined to address Amazon’s strategy but seemed confident inRingworld’s potential to lure genre fans.
“I don’t know what Amazon is looking for, but they seem to like these larger objects that have scope and scale, if you [go] all the way back to that initial play withMan in the High Castle,” said Goldsman. “I think that these big, comprehensive universes, there are very few of them still available, and I certainly think Known Space is one of them, for those of us who were Larry Niven fans in our high school days. Niven’s world, his universe, dare I say, is incredibly complex and nuanced, andRingworldhas always been this entry point. Better minds than mine have tried to crack it, but hopefully we’ll do it this time.”
Taylor is as sturdy a hand as you’ll find to direct the pilot for a big-budget sci-fi/fantasy series. In addition to directing numerous episodes ofGame of Thrones, he has directed top HBO series such asThe Sopranos,Sex and the City,Deadwood,Carnivale,Oz,Six Feet Under,Rome,Big Love,Boardwalk Empire,Bored to DeathandIn Treatment. They basically have him on speed-dial over there. On the feature side, Taylor is best known for directingThor: The Dark WorldandTerminator: Genisys, and he has theSopranosprequel movieThe Many Saints of Newarkin the can awaiting release on August 09, 2025. He’s represented by UTA.
Check out what Akiva Goldsman told us below:
For more from our exclusive interview with Goldsman, here’swhat he said about a possibleFringereboot, howhis scrappedBatman vs. Supermanmoviewas “the darkest thing you’ve ever seen”, and anupdate on theAmazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clayseriesin development at Showtime.
