Netflix‘s first Philip K. Dick show is in the works, and it is adapting one of the weirdest masterpieces written by the sci-fi author. Philip K. Dick’s stories are known to be philosophically dense and bereft of conventional storytelling rules. Owing to this, adapting his books and bringing them to the big and small screens has never been an easy feat.
Despite this, time and again, filmmakers and showrunners take on the challenging task of bringing his sci-fi stories to the screen, albeit with major changes. While some of these adaptations have struggled to leave their mark, others, like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, have become genre-defining classics.
Even on the small screen, shows like Electric Dreams and The Man in the High Castle have proven to be compelling takes on Philip K. Dick’s stories. After all these adaptations, Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi show, The Future Is Ours, is set to deliver another intriguing take on a relatively obscure story written by the author. Like most of Philip K. Dick works, this story, too, adopts weird but ambitious concepts and story beats.
Netflix’s The Future Is Ours Is Adapting A Weird But Brilliant Philip K. Dick Story
Netflix’s The Future is Ours is adapting Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made, which is a vintage cult-classic story that was first published in 1956. The novel’s core premise is driven by a character’s precognition ability, which allows him to see exactly one year in the future. Instead of taking the typical superhero route, the story portrays this ability as a curse.
The titular Floyd Jones in the story is nothing like Destiny from X-Men. His ability to foresee the future makes him more of a prisoner to a deterministic future where he lacks the free will to change it. Beyond the titular character’s ability, the book also delivers brilliant satire by unfolding in a world where Hoff’s Relativism is enforced.
According to the law, stating an absolute truth or holding a firm belief is literally a hate crime in the book’s story. This law is implemented to ensure humans live in peace and avoid having another ideological war. As the story progresses, it also introduces giant, brainless aliens called “Drifters” who fall from space but turn out to be harmless space pollen.
In another subplot, the book also focuses on genetically engineered mutants who are prepared to colonize mutants. Despite being packed with so many bizarre story developments, The World Jones Made manages to tell an intriguing story about free will, fate, political power, and humanity’s struggle against seemingly inevitable futures.
A closer look at the book’s thematic elements also suggests that it seemingly set the groundwork for more popular Philip K. Dick works like Minority Report and The Man in the High Castle.
Netflix’s The World Jones Made Adaptation Is 1 Of Its Most Ambitious Sci-fi Shows
Similar to Apple TV, Netflix was once quite experimental with the sci-fi genre. This is when shows like Stranger Things and Dark saw the light of day. However, over time, the streaming service seemingly started playing a little too safe with its sci-fi outings. In recent years, however, Netflix has seemingly been leveling up its sci-fi game with ambitious shows like 3 Body Problem, The Eternaut, and The Future Is Ours.
The Future Is Ours specifically comes off one of Netflix’s most ambitious sci-fi shows because it is attempting to modernize the setting and story of Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made. Showrun by Mateo Gil and developed with Dick’s estate, the series takes place against the backdrop of a massive ecological collapse and severe climate crisis instead of the book’s post-nuclear war fallout.
Apart from changing certain character names and roles, the upcoming Netflix sci-fi show is also dropping the bizarre alien plot from the original book.
Given how the primary appeal of Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi stories often comes from how weirdly fascinating they can become, the Netflix show is taking a massive risk by diluting some of the zanier aspects of the novel.
However, if the upcoming Philip K. Dick show on Netflix still manages to succeed, it could prove that the author’s most compelling sci-fi ideas do not rely solely on their eccentricity and can resonate just as strongly through a more grounded and modern approach.
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January 16, 2007
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Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.