
Prepare to get lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages: a trio of classic science fiction TV series are being revived as part of a new shared universe. The cult classic 1960s series The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants are in development at Legendary Television. Deadline reports that Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is spearheading the project.
All three series were the brainchildren of legendary producer Irwin Allen, who was later famous for his 1970s disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and The Swarm. The plan is for Goldsman to reimagine the series for the modern day, and to lace them together to form a cohesive universe. Notably, Allen‘s most famous TV series, Lost in Space, is not included in this package. It was previously rebooted as a theatrical film in 1998 (which Goldsman wrote), and a Netflix series that ran for three seasons between 2018 and 2021. All were properties of 20th Century Entertainment.
What Were ‘The Time Tunnel,’ ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,’ and ‘Land of the Giants’ About?
The Time Tunnel premiered in 1966, and starred James Darren and Robert Colbert as two scientists working for the top-secret Project Tic-Toc, an attempt to build a time machine. The two end up lost in time, and get sent to a new period in the past or the future in every episode. It was canceled after a single season. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was more successful, lasting four seasons from 1964-1968. Set in the then-futuristic 1970s, it centered around Richard Basehart and David Hedison, who played the commanders of the high-tech submarine Seaview. Valley of the Giants chronicled the adventures of the passengers of a commercial aircraft which was flung to a distant planet — a planet mostly identical to the Earth of the 1960s in every way, except everything, people included, is twelve times larger! Hunted by the giants, the crew, led by Gary Conway, try to avoid capture and return home.
Jon Jashni serves as executive producer on the Irwin Allen revival project, and Derek Thielges will co-produce. It’s the latest sci-fi TV project for Goldsman, who has also produced three Star Trek series — Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds — for Paramount+.
Legendary‘s reboots of The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants are in development.
via Collider
