Director Darren Aronofsky, the man behind the uber-twisty and dark Black Swan, is developing another dark and twisty project. This time, he’s optioned the rights to the Daryl Gregory novel Pandemonium, which Geek Tyrant describes as “a disturbingly fun story of demonic possession.” We have just one request: no hangnail scenes, please.
Gregory had this to say about the deal:
This is just an option, the first step in a staircase of a million steps, and options that make it all the way to the small or large screen are the exception rather than the rule. The rare exception, I’ve been told.  So don’t get too excited, Mom.
And I know what you’re thinking — why can’t you just enjoy it when something positive happens? It’s in my nature to immediately pop any balloon of good news, but today I will merely deflate it a little, by inhaling its rich, helium like gasses, and then talk in a funny voice for the rest of the day.
Pandemonium tells the story of a world very similar to our own, but which takes place on an alternate time line where, around the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur. Here’s the Amazon description of the book:
In this fascinating alternative time line, thousands of demon possessions have been carefully recorded by scientists each year since the 1950s. Each case is always the same: a recognizable, named strain of the disorder possesses a person, wreaks havoc and then jumps on to its next victim.
Del Pierce’s case is unique: when the Hellion possessed him at the age of five, it never left. Now an unhappy 20-something, Del undertakes a dangerous quest to exorcise the Hellion as it fights him for control. The trim prose keeps the pace intense and the action red hot through some emotionally disturbing scenes and heavy backstory. Absorbing psychological discussions of possession abound, from Jungian archetypes to the eye of Shiva. Readers will delve deeply into Gregory’s highly original demon-infested reality and hope for a sequel.
Since this is so early in the development phase, there is no discussion of what channel might like to take this kind of project on. (Though it’s probably safe to assume that it won’t be a network.) Whether or not you liked Black Swan, there’s no denying Aronofsky’s a director with a vision, so it will be interesting to see what he does with such an interesting story if the show moves forward.
(via Geek Tyrant)
