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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
An exact three months after the release of his latest film, The Invisible Man, the world has spiraled down into chaos and it was announced by Bloody Disgusting that filmmaker Leigh Whannell’s 2018 sci-fi thriller film Upgrade will receive a sequel, but the catch is it will be made as a television series rather than a film adaptation.
A synopsis for the series is as follows:
The series picks up a few years after the events of the film and broadens the universe with an evolved version of STEM and a new host – imagining a world in which the government repurposes STEM to help curb criminal activity.
The last time we saw the multi-purpose computer chip STEM, his previous host Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green)’s consciousness is put into a dream-like state and the computer chip has taken control over the host’s body.
This sequel would work well as a series because it fleshes out a frightening story about technology over the span of multiple episodes rather than telling a tale within the limited confines of a movie runtime. Whannell has always been outstanding at psychological or body horror films that tell truths about memory and the identity of the individual human being.
The filmmaker is set to return as director and will also now serve as co-creator and executive producer along with showrunner Tim Walsh. Jason Blum and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Sinister, Midnight Special, Upgrade) will also join to executive produce. A writer’s room has been put together for the first season of the series, with writers Krystal Ziv Houghton and James Roland of The Purge television series to join.
Earlier this year, Whannell signed a first-look deal with Blumhouse for both film and television. The Upgrade series is the first project in the works under this contract.
Blumhouse Television and its contracted partner production company Universal Cable Pictures will adapt the series. Jason Blum is the producer who brought horror films such as the Paranormal Activity series, The Purge franchise, The Gift, Split and Glass, Get Out, the Happy Death Day films, and Upgrade to prominence. He also produced drama films Whiplash and BlacKkKlansman, both of which have been nominated and won Academy Awards.
As we wait for this series to arrive, you can watch Whannell’s previous projects — the Saw franchise, the Insidious films, Cooties — including his most recent one, The Invisible Man. Our review of this film here!
Will you be seeing this series? Have you seen Whannell’s other works? Let us know! For more horror-related news and reviews follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_).
Source: Bloody Disgusting
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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