Neil Gaiman’s latest project was recently announced along with two other brand new Pratchett-based adaptations. When it rains, it pours.
At a memorial for Terry Pratchett on Thursday night, it was revealed that Gaiman would be writing the script for the long-awaited filmed version of Good Omens (there was a radio play on BBC 4 last year). Even though Gaiman and Pratchett had a deal to always work on Good Omens-related works together, Pratchett had written a letter, to be delivered posthumously, asking Gaiman to do it. “At that point, I think I said, ‘You bastard, yes,’” Gaiman said to the memorial crowd. He also revealed that it would be a six-part television series.
If that story wasn’t enough to destroy you, here’s another one from Gaiman’s twitter:
I am sharing these because I have been a mess since I saw them, and I do not want to be alone.
Also announced last night were two movie adaptations. Terry Rossio (Shrek) is working on a script for Mort while Rhianna Pratchett is adapting Wee Free Men. Still in the works, and not abandoned, is a fan-funded version of the short story “Troll Bridge” and the Discworld TV procedural called The Watch.
That’s a lot of things being worked on, and the fan in me wants them all right this second. With Pratchett’s death, we lost a prolific writer who created a world with endless opportunities for great stories. The adaptations give us a new way to experience that world. And maybe the reason every other attempt to film Good Omens stalled is because this is how it was supposed to be written—by Gaiman himself. Regardless, we’ll have to keep an eye on the progress of all these projects.