At long last, William Gibson’s ridiculously seminal cyberpunk novel is coming to the screen.
Here’s a little humble brag. Long ago when the world was young, I was interviewing Canadian genre director Vincenzo Natali about his latest film, Splice. That’d put it at around 2009.
Anyway, at the end of the interview I asked what he had on the docket next, and he demurred, and I said “Off the record.” and he said “Neuromancer.” and I said “Holy shit!”
Well, that didn’t happen. And neither did various attempts by Chris Cunningham, Chuck Russell, Tim Miller, and lord knows who else. I just wanted to illustrate that I’ve been waiting for a Neuromancer adaptation for a hell of a long time. And now, over 40 years since its first publication, William Gibson‘s wildly influential novel is gonna be a 10-part Apple TV+ series.
Neuromancer Trailer
Look, “trailer” might be a little generous. But that’s what they gave us.
What’s the plot?
Adapted from William Gibson‘s 1984 debut novel, Neuromancer takes us to Chiba City in the dark but unspecified future. There, former hacker Case is whiling his days away in a haze of drugs and self pity. His nervous system ravaged by a tailored toxin, he can’t jack into cyberspace these days – which is exactly the pressure point needed to get him to sign on for a high risk covert mission.
With a rebuilt nervous system and smokin’ hot bodyguard Molly by his side, Case is back in the game. He’d better have his wits about him, too. Because sacs of the same poison that crippled him are now nestled in his veins, ready to wreck him anew if he drops the ball…
There’s a lot more too it than that, believe me. But when people talk about cyberpunk, they’re talking about Neuromancer. Or possibly Blade Runner, but you get the gist.
Who’s in it?
- Callum Turner as Case, self-destructive, drug-addled hacker and our nominal hero.
- Briana Middleton as Molly Millions, kick-ass street samurai with mirrored eyes and razored fingers.
- Joseph Lee as Hideo, a ninja. Grown in a vat, too.
- Mark Strong as Armitage, man of military mystery.
- Clémence Poésy as Marie-France Tessier or Lady 3Jane, or probably both. It’s complicated.
- Peter Sarsgaard as John Ashpool
- Dane DeHaan as Peter Riviera, untrustworthy dipshit who gets what’s coming to him.
- Max Irons as Jean Tessier-Ashpool
- André De Shields as Julius Deane
- Marc Menchaca as Dixie Flatline, hacker, mentor, deceased (kind of).
When’s it out?
Your guess is as good as mine.
What’s the vibe?
Pretty excited, choom. Being realistic, the series won’t have as big an impact as the book. But the book changed literature, language, and arguably the world, forever, so it’s best to keep a level head about these things. Can’t wait to see what they do with it, though.
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