Johan Renck, Director of ‘Chernobyl’ Set To Make ‘Day of the Triffids’ Adaptation

Day of The Triffids, a novel by John Wyndham, was published in 1951. For alien/zombie flick enthusiasts, this is incredible news. The novel is all about a bizarre alien specie invading Earth after blinding most of the people here. The ones who can still see put up a fight to survive, but how much hope do they have? The hit zombie film 28 Days Later was inspired by this book. Here’s the official synopsis of the novel:

After most people in the world are blinded by an apparent meteor shower, an aggressive species of plant starts killing people.

Director and Production

Chernobyl director Johan Renck has been brought on board to direct the upcoming adaptation after Amazon secured the rights to adapt the story into a show. Susan Montford and Don Murphy are set to executive produce the show under their Angryfilms banner. Also, the book’s right holders, Jillian and Dennis DeFrehn of Preger Entertainment, are also going to be on board as executive producers for the series. 

While a writer is still not confirmed for the project, Amazon is planning to launch the adaptation as a few miniseries that combine the story together. The producers have been looking to take the book up to the screen into an adaptation. Previously, it was adapted into radio plays, a TV mini-series for BBC, and a movie in 1962. At one point, Sam Raimi was involved in creating and directing a film based on the book for Lionsgate.

Renck is the best modern choice for many reasons. The director won two Emmy awards for his work on Chernobyl. The director is also credited with directing some episodes of hit TV shows such as The Walking Dead as well as Breaking Bad. Coincidentally, Chernobyl was created by Craig Mazin, the co-creator of the now famous Zombie show The Last of Us. The show is adapted from a video game where a mysterious fungi infects all the living turning them into zombies. Looks like the zombie and alien genre is only going to bloom in the coming years.