Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski will write the new TV series Red Mars for Spike TV. The project, based on Kim Stanley Robinson's sci-fi novel trilogy, was originally set up at AMC back in October 2008 with writer Jonathan Hensleigh (The Punisher, Armageddon), but it never moved forward. Spike TV picked up the rights in October, and has put it on the fast track.
The adaptation, named after the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy, centers on the colonization and transformation of Mars into a planet that could sustain human life. Red Mars was published in 1993, and was followed by the sequels Blue Mars (1994) and Green Mars (1996). The books are widely beloved by sci-fi fans, and have won both the Nebula and Hugo awards. J. Michael Straczynski will write the pilot, with Vince Gerardis, a co-executive producer on HBO's Game of Thrones, also set to produce and Kim Stanley Robinson set to serve as a consultant.
J. Michael Straczynski is best known for creating Babylon 5, and he also wrote and produced for shows such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Murder, She Wrote, the 1980s version of The Twilight Zone and Jeremiah. He has also written the screenplays for Changeling, Ninja Assassin, Thor, Underworld Awakening and World War Z. He also serves as a writer and producer on the upcoming Netflix series Sense8.