Neil Gaiman fans who know Neverwhere probably break down into two groups, roughly by age: those who were introduced to the stories by the not-so-satisfying (but fondly remembered) 1996 BBC TV version and novel and the more recent Radio 4 dramatization. **Hunger Games **regular director Francis Lawrence is looking to add a third group, those who know a planned new drama series.
Lawrence is aboard to help develop the new telly take with the Mark Gordon Company, working up a fresh version of the adventures of Door and Richard Mayhew, which kicks off when the latter is drawn into a struggle for the control of the mysterious, hidden netherworld above, below and on the streets of London.
Assuming it goes ahead, Lawrence will handle directorial chores on that series and one other, as he’s also part of a deal to bring a show based on Charles Belfoure’s novel House Of Thieves to screens. Belfoure’s book follows architect John Cross in 1886 New York, who has to step in when his wayward son gets in deep with gambling debts. Cross, needing a lot of money to pay his sprog’s creditors back, uses his insider knowledge of wealthy mansions and museums to try to pull off a robbery even the best detectives can’t solve. Unfortunately for him, those skills also make him invaluable to the Kent’s Gents, the gang that his son owed money too, and he’s launched on a new life of thievery that could destroy him with one mistake…
Both series will be developed with the hopes that some channel will pick them up. We’d definitely like to see Neverwhere produced with a decent budget, though we’d be more than happy if they recruit Patterson Joseph to recreate his Marquis De Carabas. If it goes ahead, Neverwhere joins several Gaiman projects in development at companies, including American Gods, which Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller is working on for Starz.