BBC Studios raises Runestaff

BBC Studios has acquired the rights to adapt Michael Moorcock’s Runestaff fantasy novels for television.

Michael Moorcock

The Runestaff saga comprises four works – The Jewel in the Skull, The Mad God’s Amulet, Sword of the Dawn and The Runestaff – and is a story of a resistance force aiming to end the tyrannical rule of the Dark Empire. It sees protagonist Hawkmoon journey to far-flung parts of the earth, including the heart of the Dark Empire itself.

The books will be adapted with a view to creating a returning TV series. It will be produced by BBC Studios and written and exec produced by Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Doctor Who) alongside Richard Stokes (Broadchurch) and John Yorke (Life on Mars).

“This is a perfect time for the series, which seems more relevant today than it did when I originally wrote it,” said Moorcock. “I will be working closely with the writers to develop the stories. I feel like a schoolboy, breathlessly waiting for the first episode to be aired.”

The Runestaff series is the latest in a number of fantasy commissions on which BBC Studios is working. The UK pubcaster’s production and distribution arm is currently preparing forthcoming BBC2 and Amazon copro Good Omens, based on the Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novel, and is also working on fantasy police procedural The Watch for BBC America with Good Omens partner Narrativia. The latter show is based on Pratchett’s Discworld novels.