Ridley Scott is setting up a new Amazon series adapting a historical novel about Pompeii’s deadly volcanic eruption

Ridley Scott has now set up a new series at Amazon that will tell the story of the deadly volcanic eruption in Pompeii. Pompeii is a lost Italian city that was destroyed when The volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted violently in 79 CE. The tragic event has inspired many movies and series, including the 2014 film Pompeii. Scott is the director of several iconic films, including Blade Runner, AlienAnd Gladiator. This year, the director helmed the new epic historical drama, Gladiator IIwhich is set for release in theaters on November 22.

Per VarietyScott is Working on a new Pompeii-based series A day of fire. The show will be based on the historical fiction novel by Ben Kane, Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot and Vicky Alvear. A day of fire Series will be developed by Amazon MGM Studios. The showrunners for the series will be Horatio Hirst and Michael Hirst, who will also serve as writers and executive producers. Other executive producers include Scott, David W. Zucker, Clayton Kruger and Sharon Yohf.

What the development of A Day of Fire means for Ridley Scott’s career

Scott is leaning into historical dramas.

The book A day of fire Begin by tracing the events that led to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. it Tells overlapping stories of people living in Pompeii And what life was like before the volcanic eruption decimated their city. It is unknown who will star in the TV adaptation, nor how exactly the story will be told. However, chronicling multiple intersecting stories seems ripe for a quality TV adaptation, as episodes could be devoted to individual characters.

Although he is not directed, A day of fire Continues an interesting career path for Scott. Although the director’s career has spanned multiple genres, Scott’s last projects were mostly historical dramas. Last year, for example, he directed the biographical drama NapoleonAnd this year, he’s working on it Gladiator II. Although this is not the only genre that the filmmaker has worked in, as he served as a producer Alien: RomulusIt is a movie type that the author seems more interested in.

Will A Day of Fire be a better Pompeii drama than the previous film?

The 2014 film Pompeii is not well-regarded

The history of Pompeii is fascinating and is ripe for potentially interesting stories. The Mount Vesuvius eruption was covered in Pompeii, staring Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington, however, was reviewed unfavorably, receiving a 27% Tomatometer. While A day of fire Could fall into a similar trap of being over-the-top, I think it has a lot more potential to stay rooted in the human experience. A TV series format will also allow the project more time for its characters to explore them in a holistic, believable way in Scotts upcoming work.

Source: Variety