Amazon has reportedly canceled the adaptation of Iain M. Banks sci-fi series Consider Phlebas, the first novel in the author’s acclaimed sci-fi Culture series.
Amazon Studios acquired rights to the book in 2018 as part of an effort to create shows with global appeal for Amazon Prime Video, but multiple sources say development is no longer happening.
Dennis Kelly, who was adapting Consider Phlebas for the streaming screen, told Den of Geek earlier this week that work on the project had stopped.
Kelly said: “We’d talked about it for two or three years and it went a certain way along. I’d written probably 20-30 pages of the bible, but once I got a sense that it wasn’t going to happen, I had to stop writing because you become emotionally attached to the work.”
Kelly said that the decision was down to Banks’ estate. “In the end, I just think the estate didn’t want to go through with it. It wasn’t the material it was just because I think they weren’t ready to do it, for whatever reason. I’m a little mystified myself, to be honest,” he added.
In a statement, Banks’ estate said: “the interest and devotion that Iain’s work continues to inspire is a testament to the enduring relevance of his ideas and imagination and that it was hugely grateful for all the care and creative energy that went into the early stages of the project.”
