While production continues on Apple TV+’s Neuromancer, Callum Turner opens up about the development of the television adaptation of the groundbreaking sci-fi novel that helped set the foundations of the cyberpunk genre. Written by William Gibson, the 1984 novel tells the story of a disgraced hacker brought on board to help an ex-military officer obtain a powerful AI entity. In Neuromancer, Turner portrays Henry Case, a former hacker roped into the services of the mysterious former military officer known as Armitage, who offers Case a second chance at life for his assistance.
While speaking with ScreenRant at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Atropia, Turner was asked for an update on his Neuromancer adaptation. The star confirmed that he has already completed two weeks of filming on the sci-fi TV show in Tokyo, having gone from the set there to London briefly before coming to the festival. He also reflected on Gibson’s “poetic” source material, while praising showrunners Graham Roland and J.D. Dillard for their translation of the book to the screen.
Japan Is A Key Establishing Setting For The Novel
Within the original Neuromancer novel, the story opens on Case living as a low-level hustler in Chiba City, Japan. Forced to put his hacking life behind him as part of a punishment for past crimes, his recruitment into Armitage’s services set him on an adventure across the globe, taking him from Istanbul to the orbit of Earth. However, Case’s past in Chiba City still plays into the later events of the novel, as Case’s past comes back to haunt him in cyberspace.
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With Turner’s comments, it is likely that a large part of the shoot in Tokyo was focused on the earlier sections of the novel, including exterior location shots. As such, future shoots involving Turner may be focused on the sections set in other locations, be they real-world locations or the digital realms. Further progress still needs to be made in the production of the Apple TV+ show.
Our Thoughts On Turner’s Neuromancer Tease
Turner Has Teased A Clear Understanding Of Gibson’s Writing Styles
Adapting Neuromancer is no small task, as the novel helped establish many of the traits that would become iconic to the genre. From its depictions of class, technological advancement, and character archetypes, Gibson’s work helped lay the foundations for stories such as The Matrix and Cyberpunk 2077 to build upon. While there may be incredible pressure, the streaming service’s success at adapting Isaac Asimov’s Foundation to television has shown the service is capable of bringing such influential works to the screen.
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Furthermore, alongside hinting towards what elements of the book the series has filmed, Turner’s comments on Gibson’s original writing and compliments about Roland and Dillard’s screenwriting do show a clear understanding of how the writer’s styles stood out. As such, it is clear that Neuromancer could prove to be a highly-anticipated addition to Apple TV+’s catalog.
Neuromancer
- Showrunner
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Graham Roland
- Directors
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JD Dillard
- Writers
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Graham Roland, JD Dillard