Apple TV+ will finally bring WIlliam Gibson's Neuromancer to the small screen, with a 10-episode series based on the first in his Sprawl trilogy of cyberpunk novels.
Many have tried to adapt the book for film in the past, but to no avail. A TV series seems a better fit, though.
Netflix will be bringing its epic sci-fi book adaptation, 3 Body Problem, to our screens later this month, which is great, but Apple has announced an equivalent series that we've wanted since the mid-80s.
The Apple TV+ streaming service is getting a 10-episode adaptation of William Gibson's groundbreaking cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer.
The show is being created by Graham Roland (Jack Ryan, Dark Winds) and JD Dillard (The Outsider) and is being made by Skydance Television (Foundation) in collaboration with Anonymous Content, a production company that also worked on Mr Robot and the original three seasons of True Detective.
Roland will serve as showrunner while Dillard will direct the first episode. There's no word yet on casting or release date. Considering how much special effects work will invariably need to be done, we don't expect we'll see anything on Apple TV+ until later 2025 at the earliest.
"We’re incredibly excited to be bringing this iconic property to Apple TV+," said the co-creators.
"Neuromancer has inspired so much of the science fiction that’s come after it and we’re looking forward to bringing television audiences into Gibson’s definitive cyberpunk world."
The streaming home of sci-fi
Apple TV+ is truly making its mark as the streaming home of sci-fi TV, with a growing number of much-loved series available on the platform or yet to come. Foundation, For All Mankind, Silo, Severance, Invasion and, more recently, Constellation have each found a solid fan base, with many also rating very highly on Rotten Tomatoes.
Apple also recently announced that it is to bring a TV adaptation of The Murderbot Diaries to the service in the future, which shows its continued support for the genre.
But even among such lofty company, Neuromancer is a major coup. The first novel in William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy was first released in 1984 to enormous critical success. There have been attempts to adapt it to film in the past, with the most recent coming from the director of Deadpool, Tim Miller, but none have seen the light of day.
Thankfully, Apple TV+ will finally bring us a series we've wanted in years. Let's just hope the wait was worth it.
How much is Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is available in a couple of ways, either as a standalone subscription or as part of a package with other Apple service.
On its own, Apple TV+ will cost you £8.99 / $9.99 per month (after a free trial period for new subscribers. And, unlike some rivals, up to five family members can share the same Apple TV+ subscription.
However, an Apple One subscription is priced at £18.95 / $19.95 per month and you get 50GB of iCloud storage, Apple Music and Apple Arcade, as well. That's for single person membership.
For £24.95 / $25.95 per month, a Family subscription boosts the iCloud storage to 200GB and enables service sharing with up to five people.
And finally, a Premier subscription is available for £36.95 / $37.95 per month. It adds Fitness+ and Apple News+, and increases the iCloud storage to 2TB.
