‘The Outer Limits’ Getting the Big Screen Treatment from ‘Doctor Strange’ Director Scott Derrickson
With Warner Brothers struggling to bring their 'Twilight Zone' movie reboot into production, it's funny to see MGM swoop in and announce that 'Doctor Strange' director Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (who previously wrote 'Sinister' together) will be collaborating on making a big screen adaptation of 'The Outer Limits.'
Though 'Twilight Zone' and 'Outer Limits' did their own things, since both were anthologies with horror elements it created a sense of rivalry between the two (with the latter the underdog), so it's interesting that The Hollywood Reporter -- who broke the story -- note that Derrickson says he prefers 'Limits.' And where the previous 'Zone' movie was an anthology film, for 'Outer Limits' the duo are looking to adapt one episode, specifically "Demon with a Glass Hand," (pictured above), which was written for the small screen by genre legend Harlan Ellison.
Of late studio horror movies have fallen into two categories: reboot/remakes and found footage, so while this falls in the former category, it at least is based on great source material. That said, turning a thirty minute episode into a feature film takes finessing to make sure that the additional material doesn't just feel like padding. Considering Derrickson will be directing 'Doctor Strange,' we imagine his role will be confined to writing and producing the film.