Sam Esmail, known for his work as the creator of the series Mr. Robot and Homecoming, will helm a new Metropolis series over at Apple TV+.
Metropolis has remained a relatively untouched work since Fritz Lang’s (M, Contempt) silent German expressionist film debuted in 1927, starring Gustav Fröhlich and Brigitte Helm. Lang wrote the film’s screenplay alongside Metropolis’ author, Thea von Harbou, who penned the novel two years prior. The science fiction work is known for its messages on class (which definitely leans in the communist direction), as well as its groundbreaking filmmaking.
Both the novel and the film follow two star-crossed lovers named Freder and Maria, whose romance eventually leads to a class uprising by the toiling underground lower class against a pampered upper class. It birthed the iconic image of the false Maria (Helm), a wide-eyed, golden android who leads this uprising and causes general chaos.
The film has inspired the work of musical artists such as Janelle Monáe, who re-contextualized Metropolis to not only touch on class but race. However, this is the first time it will be adapted into a series. Metropolis has long been in development by Esmail, dating back to 2016. He will serve as the show’s showrunner, as well as the sole director and writer.
The project joins Esmail’s running roster, which includes the Peacock series Angelyne, Starz’s Gaslit (starring Julia Roberts), The Resort, as well as the new Battlestar Galactica reboot for Peacock. He’s also writing and directing the Netflix feature Leave The World Behind, also starring Roberts, as well as Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke. If you remember, Roberts also starred in the first season of Homecoming, so it’s entirely possible he will find a role for her here as well.
Let’s all remember on a day like today, “the mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart.”