Saddle up for a hellride: Chronicles of Amber coming to TV!

[eulalia]

@Tapiotar

NO. No Fillion. He’s too much of a lightweight goofball to play Corwin. He could do the wisecracking part, but not the very dangerous, hard-fighting side. Come to think of it, his comedic touch is too light for even the wisecracking part of Corwin. Needs to be someone with more bite.

Not Fillion, but thinking about him made me think of someone else. I could easily see Seamus Dever as Random.

[Alessan]

@Tapiotar

NO. No Fillion. He’s too much of a lightweight goofball to play Corwin. He could do the wisecracking part, but not the very dangerous, hard-fighting side. Come to think of it, his comedic touch is too light for even the wisecracking part of Corwin. Needs to be someone with more bite.

Timothy Olyphant?

[hogarth]

I read the first three or four books as a teenager. I thought the first couple were full of interesting ideas and characters, but I’d give the plot an F-. It just felt too much like someone making up random stuff as he was going along.

[simster]

@JcWoman

I want Nathan Fillian to play Corwin.

Pre-Castle Fillon I could see - not any longer

@Alessan

Timothy Olyphant?

I could see that.

[carnivorousplant]

@hogarth

I read the first three or four books as a teenager. I thought the first couple were full of interesting ideas and characters, but I’d give the plot an F-. It just felt too much like someone making up random stuff as he was going along.

I read and enjoyed them all; I lost interest in the books where the son was the protagonist.

[MrDibble]

@Tapiotar

NO. No Fillion. He’s too much of a lightweight goofball to play Corwin. He could do the wisecracking part, but not the very dangerous, hard-fighting side.

:dubious:
“You wanna meet the real me now?”

However, having said that, he’s too old for Corwin now (errm, you know what I mean).

[Alessan]

Yeah - the princes look like they’re in the prime of their lives, which makes them around 30. Casting an over-40 actor is tempting, but probably a mistake.

[Tim_R.Mortiss]

@hogarth

I read the first three or four books as a teenager. I thought the first couple were full of interesting ideas and characters, but I’d give the plot an F-. It just felt too much like someone making up random stuff as he was going along.

This pretty much sums up my feelings. LOVED the first book, and enjoyed the next four even though they struck me as pretty random. I read the last five out of stubbornness, even though they meandered all over the place with no sense of purpose.

However, having said that, a long-form TV series would be a perfect venue for retooling the plot using the same Amber concepts. Could be awesome!

[Loach]

@Smapti

Neat.

It’s been like 20 years since I read those books, but I loved them as a teenager and I’m eager to see what’ll become of them on TV.

Me too. So long ago that I don’t remember a damn thing about them.

@Tapiotar

NO. No Fillion. He’s too much of a lightweight goofball to play Corwin. He could do the wisecracking part, but not the very dangerous, hard-fighting side. Come to think of it, his comedic touch is too light for even the wisecracking part of Corwin. Needs to be someone with more bite.

Ever see him at the end of Buffy as the bad guy?

[Skywatcher]

@Alessan

Yeah - the princes look like they’re in the prime of their lives, which makes them around 30. Casting an over-40 actor is tempting, but probably a mistake.

If the princes are all 25 - 40: Bruce Campbell as Oberon?

[Zsofia]

One of the few properties I love that might actually translate well to TV. I reread the whole shebang recently and still very much enjoyed it, even the second set, although the women are, indeed, pathetic.

[misling]

Except Fiona. Fiona is badass.
However, Corwin never really knew what she was up to until afterwards, so we never saw her up to badassery.

[Maserschmidt]

I’ve wanted for so long to see this but I’m wary about the casting. So much depends on Corwin, and I don’t have any ideas (yet). Simon Pegg as Random might be interesting, however.

[Rilchiam]

@Zsofia

…although the women are, indeed, pathetic.

Well, this’ll be a great opportunity to fix that.

Has anyone read the companion volume, Visual Guide to Castle Amber, co-authored with Neil Gaiman? It gives quite a bit of backstory. Flora was a mistress of Napoleon, for instance. Gerard played for the Crimson Tide. And Fiona is shown to be supersmart, like code-breaker-for-the-Allies smart. I’ve seen plenty of literary adaptations where events/elements only alluded to in print are played out on screen. If Zelazny was still with us, he’d probably be eager to make updates and adjustments.

[Rick_Kitchen]

Jamie Bell as Random? I always thought of Random as a squirrelly little shit.
Garrett Hedlund as Corwin? He was interesting as Captain Hook pre-Hook in Pan.

[Rilchiam]

@Rick_Kitchen

Jamie Bell as Random? I always thought of Random as a squirrelly little shit.

Ooooooooooooo! That could work!

And yes, if they’re going to do this, certain personality quirks have to be adhered to. Random doesn’t have to be a jazz drummer, but he has to be a musician, or at any rate, some kind of free spirit. Benedict has to be the kind of guy who “generally does rule, wherever he goes. He is simply that sort of man.” Julian has to be the dark, brooding, Lord Byron/Mr. Rochester/Heathcliiff romantic hero. And Flora has to be the vain beauty who will change her allegiance in a split second, just to always be on the side who will let her live in luxury.

[Baal_Houtham]

@hogarth

I read the first three or four books as a teenager. I thought the first couple were full of interesting ideas and characters, but I’d give the plot an F-. It just felt too much like someone making up random stuff as he was going along.

It’s been decades, but after the first book set up a prohibition against firearms, having the prohibition violated in the second book struck me as Zelazny “making stuff up.” Geez man, don’t be that desparate for a plot – let the universe solidify. I stopped with the 2nd book.

OTOH, I’ve been thinking, within the last 3 weeks, about Lord of Light and what a great film it could be. It seems that there are just too many blockbuster films with retread plots – If Someone applied the looks and budget of Avatar to a story like LoL, you’d have film with flash and substance.

Maybe the religious issues are seen as a problem. Maybe the Pseudo-Hindu gods would alienate multiple religious communities, but jeez - Demons. Descents into Hellwell. The Assassin battling Death. The Buddha outwitting death. Agni striking with mile-long fire. Cinematic as hell.

[robby]

Fantastic news! This is one of my all-time favorite series.

[Zsofia]

If I got to have my druthers I’d be very happy to see Idris Elba as Benedict.

[carnivorousplant]

@Baal_Houtham

Maybe the religious issues are seen as a problem. Maybe the Pseudo-Hindu gods would alienate multiple religious communities, but jeez - Demons. Descents into Hellwell. The Assassin battling Death. The Buddha outwitting death. Agni striking with mile-long fire. Cinematic as hell.

Possible spoiler

Is the bird Sam attempts to escape on a living creature or a ship?