While we’re not exactly fans of the conspiracy-minded franchises like “The Da Vinci Code” or “National Treasure” — movies that attempt to decipher historic characters via ludicrous false histories — the trend is not going away, and now thanks to “The Dark Knight” co-writer David Goyer, another such project is coming.
Starz has made an eight-episode order for the Goyer-penned “Da Vinci’s Demons,” which is said to follow the 25-year old artist through his days spent in Florence, Italy, getting to the bottom of who he really is. While that may not sound like the sort of historical grave digging found in “The Da Vinci Code,” Goyer adds, “This will be a show about secret histories, genius, madness, and all things profane.” So yeah, that whole “secret histories” thing has us thinking he’ll be taking the Dan Brown route on this project.
While the screenwriter may be putting forth some of his “Batman Begins” experience on this, since it sounds as if they’re telling the Da Vinci origin story, let’s hope the show’s quality is at the very least in line with Starz’s very own “Spartacus.” While Goyer has delivered admirably for Nolan’s Batman series, and also penned solid efforts like “Blade II” and “Dark City,” he’s also the guy who gave us “The Unborn” and “The Invisible” (both of which he also directed).
So we’re a bit wary, but Goyer is a very busy boy these days. He’s been writing “Monsters” director Gareth Edwards’ “Godzilla” reboot, potentially writing and directing a remake of “The Invisible Man,” and adapting the comic “100 Bullets” for a Showtime television series. And there’s another one titled “Man Of Steel” you might have been hearing about. At the very least, we hope that “Da Vinci Demons” is nothing like the other Goyer produced/written television series “Flash Forward,” which was quickly canceled after folks realized it just really wanted to be like “Lost.” No word yet on when we’ll see a pilot for this one, but we’d assume that with Starz currently experiencing strong reviews and ratings for the Gus Van Sant produced “Boss,” they’re eager to built a slate of quality programming to rival the folks at HBO, AMC and Showtime. [Vulture]
