Independent science fiction blasted off into hyperspace this week with the news that Dragon Award winner Richard Fox’s The Exiled Fleet series was optioned for television development.
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British producer Poss Kondeatis announced The Exiled Fleet TV development on his YouTube channel, stating, “It’s expected to be a long journey, and I’m hoping it will be one you’ll be interested in following us with.”
Finally, Poss gives hints as to what to expect from the production team in terms of transparency with the process, saying, “Over the coming months I hope to also share updates and insights from behind the scenes, in little bite sized videos on a YouTube channel I created for this project. If you’re interested in seeing how The Exiled Fleet is shaping up, or interested in TV development in general, you’ll be welcome to follow me on the channel, as the input from fans is most welcome.”
Poss is best known for his short film, “Until the River Runs Read” which won a 2011 BAFTA Award. His credits as producer include another short film and a music video. He’s also acted as a production assistant on the film, The Duchess, as well as a production manager on the Britney Spears music video for the song “Criminal.”
It’s very rare for independent novel series to be optioned for TV and film, making this a watershed moment for the wave of authors who came to prominence in the 2010s without any kind of corporate backing or marketing.
The most famous indie sci-fi adaptation to date is Andy Weir’s The Martian, which was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon. The scope of The Martian story is much more limited compared to Richard Fox’s sweeping space opera, which will require an imaginative mind to visually capture the epic space battles.
The Exiled Fleet is described as a military science-fiction series and it follows Commodore Thomas Gage as he defends the star kingdom of Albion against an alien threat known as the Daegon.
Gage must defend the last survivors of the Albion Royal Family as they are ruthlessly hunted by a Daegon commander into the dangerous and hostile area of space known as the Kigeli Nebula.
The Exiled Fleet series is a six-book series that begins with Albion Lost. It continues in The Long March, Finest Hour, Point of Honor, and The Last Ditch before finally concluding in Liberty or Death.
“I’m excited to see the story of The Exiled Fleet on the screen, and even more excited for the books’ readers to see their imagination come to life,” Fox told Bounding Into Comics. “The show will expand on some areas of the story that had more depth to them than I could explore, so the show will be a fuller picture of a fight for freedom and self-determination against tyranny.”
On Facebook, Fox noted the series will “quite likely” be animation and is expected to be produced in Europe.
This is not Fox’s first foray into different mediums other than his novels. In 2018, Fox had his bestselling Ember War book adapted into a graphic novel. The campaign for the book made over $25,000 and was praised by fans.
The new development of his The Exiled Fleet series into a show is sure to delight Fox’s readers, as the author continues to rise to greater prominence in the field.
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