The ‘Mr. Robot’ creator and showrunner will channel his knack for dystopian sci-fi into an adaptation of Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic.
Sam Esmail’s miniseries Metropolis has been cleared for takeoff at Apple TV+.
The Mr. Robot creator and showrunner’s new project has been in the works since 2016. The material is based on Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece of German expressionist cinema; set in the futuristic city of Metropolis, the film stands as one of the most influential works of the silent era, and of science-fiction in any era.
Lang’s film is centered around the enlightenment of one Freder Fredersen, the son of one of the city’s wealthy and powerful elites, who live in luxury as the working class toils away to keep society afloat. Fredersen wakes up to the injustices around him after meeting a worker named Maria, and seeing workers perish in an industrial accident.
Esmail will write, direct, executive produce, and serve as showrunner on Metropolis. Chad Hamilton will executive produce with Esmail via Esmail Corp, which is currently operating under an overall deal at studio UCP.
The genre and storylines inherent in Metropolis seem to be a perfect fit for Esmail, whose Mr. Robot is steeped in anti-establishment and existentialist themes set against the backdrop of a chilly dystopia.
Most recently, Esmail directed and executive produced the Amazon series Homecoming. He also executive produced the upcoming thriller series Gaslit for Starz, as well as The Resort, Angelyne, and Peacock’s Battlestar Galactica reboot.
Max Weinstein is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the Editor-at-Large of 'Dread Central' and former Editorial Director of 'MovieMaker.' His work has been featured in 'Cineaste,' 'Fangoria,' 'Playboy,' 'Vice,' and 'The Week.'
