New Amazon Sci-Fi Series Is the Anti-Star Trek (and Marvel Director Is Involved)

Amazon is developing a TV adaptation of the Culture series by author Iain M. Banks. This acclaimed 10-book series is credited with reviving the space opera genre and presenting a radically different view of advanced life from other novels in the genre. According to a report by Deadline, the adaptation will be written by Charles Yu, creator of Interior Chinatown. He will executive producer the series along with Eternals director Chloé Zhao. Even at a time where Dune, Foundation, Three-Body Problem and other great sci-fi stories are thriving onscreen, an adaptation of Culture would stand out and give audiences something genuinely unique to grapple with.

Amazon MGM Studios is reportedly referring to this Culture project by the title Consider Phlebas — the name of the first novel in Banks’ series. Banks published nine novels and one short story collection in the Culture series between 1987 and 2012. The author was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 2013, and passed away shortly after.

Each novel in the Culture series generally stands on its own, with a self-contained story and separate characters from the other books. They all work together to present a picture of a utopian society. The Culture is made up of a mixture of humanoid aliens and artificial intelligences that live on space stations and ships scattered across the Milky Way. They have advanced to a “post-scarcity” economy, with no need to work in order to sustain themselves.

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The stories generally revolve around the Culture’s interactions with other civilizations and the ethical dilemma of when to intervene in events that run counter to their philosophies. As advanced as they are, the Culture has even higher lifestyles to aspire to, while the books also show us different ways that advanced societies can thrive. The stories are an exploration of morality, war, espionage, and utopia.

The first book, Consider Phlebas, is about the Culture’s war with the Idiran Empire — a conflict that many of the other books are concerned with as well. While the book is about the Culture, the main character is an Idiran operative named Bora Horza Gobuchul. According to Banks himself, the book confronts the cliche of a heroic individual impacting the course of history on a grand scale, as well as the futility of war.

Amazon’s Consider Phlebas is still in development, so there’s no telling if or when we’ll see it on Prime Video. Banks’ Culture novels are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.