Alfred Gough and Miles Miller, the creators of hit shows such as Smallville and Wednesday, are now developing a reboot of James Frey’s I Am Number Four. The news comes from the author of the book during an interview with SffGazette, saying:
“Neal Moritz is producing a version of it that was written by the original writers, [Alfred Gough] and [Miles Millar], who just made Wednesday. So, we are in process on it and I can’t say whether it will actually ever get made or not, but I have great people I’m working with who are trying to make it happen, for sure.”
I Am Number Four was released in 2010 under Pittacus Lore, which is the pseudonym of James Frey and Jobie Hughes. The first film adaptation came in 2011, with a cast that included Alex Pettyfer, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand and Timothy Olyphant.
I didn’t find the first movie that interesting and it was a pretty forgettable movie. But, this new creative team obviously feels like that can breathe new life into the franchise. The development is still in the early stages and there’s no guarantee that it will happen, but some people might be interested in seeing a new attempt to retell this story. Obviously, everyone involved sees franchise potential if they can get this project off the ground.
I Am Number Four follows the extraordinary life of John Smith, a seemingly ordinary teenager who is, in reality, an alien from the planet Lorien. John is one of nine Lorien children sent to Earth to hide from their planet’s conquerors, the Mogadorians, who are now hunting them down one by one, in order.
Protected by a charm that ensures they can only be killed in numerical order, John, who is Number Four, goes on the run when his number comes up. With the help of his guardian, Henri, and new friends, Sarah and Sam, John learns to harness his developing powers to protect himself and fight back against the Mogadorians.
Would you like to see a new adaptation of this story?