Glen Cook's ten-volume book series The Black Company is being turned into a television show to star Eliza Dushku and be produced by David S. Goyer.
The Black Company is officially described as "an elite mercenary unit that carries out the often nefarious deeds of the highest bidderer across a Tolkienesque landscape. When these hard-bitten men discovery the proophecy that the embodiment of good has been reborn, they must re-examine their loyalties."
Dushku, best known as Faith on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and most recently star of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, portrays a dark sorcereress known as The Lady, who utilizes the Black Company to help maintain her powerbase. Goyer, of course, is involved with a wide variety of film and TV projects, including Syfy's Superman prequel project, Krypton.
The show is being produced by IM Global Television — recently announced as the creative force behind the new King Kong Skull Island TV series. Said IM's Mark Stern, "Glen Cook's books turn the traditional fantasy adventure tropes on their ear with wry, dimensional characters and a modern sensibility. We're excited to explore this intricate and exciting world for television."
In an interview with strangehorizons, Cook was asked about why his series is so popular amongst soldiers. "I'm told that it rings true," he says. "The characters act like the guys actually behave. It doesn't glorify war; it's just people getting on with the job. The characters are real soldiers. They're not soldiers as imagined by people who've never been in the service. That's why service guys like it. They know every guy who's in the books, and I knew every guy who's in the books. Most of the early characters were based on guys I was in the service with. The behavior patterns are pretty much what you'd expect if you were an enlisted man in a small unit."
There is no network attached to the series at this point.