Robert J. Sawyer rerports that TV rights to his science-fiction novel Flashforward have sold to ABC in a handsome deal negotiated by Vince Gerardis of Created By.
David S. Goyer (Batman Begins) and Brannon Braga (Star Trek: Enterprise, 24) have scripted the pilot episode, which is now in pre-production. Goyer will direct the pilot, and Jessika Borsiczky Goyer and Braga are among the Executive Producers.
Sawyer will serve as consultant on the pilot, and on each episode of any subsequent series; he will also write a first-season episode.
Flashforward tells the story of a mysterious event that causes everyone on Earth to get a brief glimpse of their future lives. The novel, first published in 1999 by Tor Books, and continuously in print since, won Canada’s Aurora Award for Best Novel of the Year as well as Spain’s Premio UPC de Ciencia Ficcin. An unabridged audio version is available through Audible.com, and translated editions are available in German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.
The Hollywood Reporter says “ABC might finally have launched a strong companion to Lost with Flashforward.”
Sawyer emphasizes that the deal “is not just an option; this is a purchase, and ABC has committed to produce the pilot.” He also reminds readers that, “because Tor’s art department split the title into two words on the book’s cover, the book is sometimes referred to as Flash Forward instead of Flashforward.”