After Nearly 40 Years – ‘Prisoner’ May Be Released

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After almost 4 decades, the 1967 television classic The Prisoner may finally be making it to the big screen. Universal Studios is reportedly nearing a deal with Christopher Nolan, best known for Memento and Insomnia, to bring the UK cult classic to theaters, perhaps as early as 2007. The studio reports that they plan to have Nolan begin production on a contemporized film version of the show after he completes The Dark Knight the sequel to the hit Batman Begins which is set to begin production at Universal in early 2007.

In 1967 Patrick McGoohan devised a cold war saga for the UK television service ITC. The premise comprised the kidnapping of a former covert agent, played by McGoohan, who is taken by government officials to a resort community known simply as “The Village”. There he is stripped of his identity, known henceforth as simply Number 6, and interrogated by the overseers, whose government allegiance is never known. It is this lack of information that keeps Number 6 from divulging any information whatsoever, and fuels his need for escape. McGoohan also wrote and directed several episodes, often under a pseudonym. The show was a success and the network wanted 26 episodes. McGoohan had only planned on 7 and eventually 17 episodes were filmed as a compromise. The show has developed a global following which includes a museum at the site formerly used for filming in Portmerion, Wales, a Simpsons episode in which Homer plays Number 6, and annual fan-coms. The show capitalized on the Cold War, and the popularity of both Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, as well as the television series Dr. Who. The shows theme music, entitled “The Age of Elegance”, was composed by Ron Grainer and was rumored to have its origins in a tune McGoohan was whistling on the set of the pilot.

The feature film is set to have Janet and David Peoples write the script, and Scott Stuber, Mary Parent, Barry Mendel and Emma Thomas producing. Janet and David wrote Twelve Monkeys together, and David Peoples co-wrote Blade Runner. The project is set to be the first under the new Stuber/Parent banner at Universal where the film has now taken on high priority. Numerous attempts have been made over the past 40 years to bring the story to the big screen, often with McGoohan looking to be at the helm. Currently Stuber is co-producing the Peter Berg directed, “The Kingdom” with Michael Mann, and Parent is handling preparations for Halo in New Zealand. Casting options have not yet been released.