Murderbot Sci-Fi Thriller Series Gets Excellent Lead Actor
Murderbot might be the most straightforward title in television history. A robot that kills things, just like it says on the package. According to Deadline, the upcoming AppleTV+ series has found its perfect murder-loving android in Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgard.
Alexander Skarsgard To Star In Apple TV+’s Murderbot
The series is based on the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series The Murderbot Diaries by author Martha Wells. AppleTV+ gave the series the green light a year ago, but casting for the lead role—the titular Murderbot—was sidelined by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Now that the strikes are over, the streamer is free to announce the casting of Skarsgard in the upcoming project.
The Murderbot Novels
Murderbot revolves around a security android that manages to hack its own programming, essentially giving it free will. The security bot is forced to hide its newfound autonomy, however, as it continues to go on dangerous assignments. Meanwhile, all the killing machine wants is to stay at home watching soap operas and contemplating its place in the universe. Johnny 5, it’s not.
From The Writers Of Rogue One
Chris and Paul Weitz are writing, directing, and producing Murderbot through their Depth of Field production company. Chris Weitz is no stranger to the sci-fi genre having been one of the writers on Rogue One—the only Disney Star Wars film to be universally loved by the fandom. His brother Paul, on the other hand, has more experience writing comedies like About a Boy and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.Together, the Weitz brothers should have no problem presenting a version of Murderbot that’s funny and thrilling at the same time. The brothers will be getting a helping hand from genre veteran David S. Goyer, showrunner on another Apple TV+ series Foundation. Goyer, the writer behind Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, will serve as executive producer on Murderbot.
Apple TV+ Is The New Sci-Fi King
Meanwhile, Alexander Skarsgard is no stranger himself to the sci-fi genre. Skarsgard has had roles in Godzilla vs. Kong and the Netflix sci-fi mystery Mute, making him more than qualified to take on the lead role in Murderbot. Apple TV+ has had a lot of success with the sci-fi genre as of late. Series like Silo, For All Mankind, and Invasion have all proven to be a hit with the streamer’s subscriber base. In addition to those titles, Apple TV+’s newest sci-fi series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, based on the Monsterverse series of Godzilla and Kong films, has been generating quite the buzz since it debuted on the streaming service last month.
When To Expect The Murderbot Series On Apple TV+
The first Murderbot novel, All Systems Red, was released in 2017. Since then, the series has expanded to include seven novels and three short stories. With that much source material to draw from, should Murderbot prove to be a hit, the Weitz brothers will have enough story to keep the show going for a few seasons at least.
With the project just now announcing casting, it’s safe to say that Murderbot won’t be joining the Apple TV+ lineup anytime soon. We can guess that production will most likely start sometime in 2024 meaning that Apple subscribers should expect to see Murderbot Season 1 in very late 2024 or early 2025.
