Director Vincenzo Natali who recently completed “Splice,” one of this years most talked about indie film, has signed on to helm Fire Development Inc.’s adaption of William Gibson’s cult classic cyberpunk novel “Neuromancer.” It’s plot synopsis is summed up quite nicely by THR as a story about “a washed-up computer hacker hired by a mysterious employer to work on the ultimate hack.”
“Neuromancer” is one of those projects that has been in limbo for quite some time. I’m not sure what happened exactly, as “Torque” director Joseph Kahn has been attached to the project in 2008 and has recently even been quoted as being committed and involved with the film.
Regardless, this changing of the guards with Natali is excellent news, as it may mean that the project is actively being pursued rather than left to rot in development hell. While I haven’t seen “Splice” yet, and I don’t know much about Natali as a director, I have complete faith in his ability in adapting Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel.
William Gibson is the god father of science fiction and cyberpunk and “Neuromancer” became the first novel to ever win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. I remember having to read “Neuromancer” in college, not in English or any literature class, but in computer science 101.
It’s that influential and critical, and I hope Natali can do it justice.