The last couple of years have delivered us some solid kaiju fun in the form of Ultraman, numerous Godzilla projects from both Japan and the US, and Kaiju No. 8. Whether they’re metaphors for climate change or the atrocities that human beings inflict on one another, or just big arse monsters, watching kaiju wreck densely populated cities has yet to get old. And soon, a new TV show will join in on that massive, apocalyptic fun.
Deadline is reporting that Jeremy Robinson’s 2012 sci-fi novel, Project Nemesis, is set to receive its own TV adaptation courtesy of Sony TV and Fast & Furious studio Original Film. In the book, the kaiju Nemesis serves the goddess of vengeance and seeks brutal, city destroying justice for those who’ve been tormented. When her DNA becomes merged with a recently murdered girl named Maigo, Nemesis does what she does best and begins to go on a rampage from Maine to Boston in search of the girl’s killer. Tracking their pursuit is a DHS agency named John Hudson, now vindicated for heading up the agency’s paranormal division.
Sounds like a fun enough premise for a TV show, if only because no one’s really done a murder mystery featuring a giant monster as the detective before. (If they have, please let me know!) And the book’s fans seem to agree, because Project Nemesis went on to spawn its own series, dubbed “The Nemesis Saga.” The six-book series spawned a comic miniseries adapting its events, and at one point, there was even a video game featuring Nemesis monsters called Colossal Kaiju Combat that was crowdfunded on Kickstarter and intended as a fighting game in the vein of old Godzilla fighting games from Pipeworks during the PS2 and Xbox days. Sadly, the game went unreleased, and ultimately shut down in 2017.
At this time, an intended platform or release date for Project Nemesis has yet to be revealed. Serving as executive producer and director is Chad Stahelski, best known for the John Wick franchise, the eventual Highlander remake, and the upcoming film adaptation of Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. In a press statement, Stahelski expressed excitement at bringing Robinson’s series to life, having been hooked on the book the moment he read it. “This amazing book series has everything I love about the genre,” he said. “It’s got martial arts, action, great characters, and of course, Kaiju!”
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.