Brace Yourself for Weirdness: Grant Morrison to Adapt ‘The Invisibles’ for TV
In 1994, following a spiritual experience which started with sprinting up a temple in Kathmandu and ended with dimension-shifting beings explaining the nature of time, Grant Morrison began his cosmic opus The Invisibles. It was a groundbreaking psychedelic exploration of counterculture, conspiracy theory and mind-expanding weirdness equal parts Lovecraft, the Matrix and Aleister Crowley.
Surely, you might think, only a certified madman would attempt to adapt such an eclectic comic series for the screen. (Re)enter Grant Morrison, a man who once received instructions from aliens on how to do magic with his own semen.
Ultra-violent and gloriously lacking in narrative discipline, it’s hard to imagine a TV take on The Invisibles that does justice to the sheer absurdity of the original series, but the prospect certainly has us intrigued.
The Invisibles‘ tale of occult freedom fighters battling shadowy government conspiracies is fondly remembered as a boundary-pushing, genre-defying curiosity. It enjoyed a cult following which had considerable behind-the-scenes impact on pop culture, from inspiring the look and feel of The Matrix to earning subtle nods in episodes of Stranger Things.
Morrison’s work is increasingly sought-after by TV and film executives. His book Happy! enjoyed great success in adaptation, and he is currently working on an updated version of Aldous Huxley‘s Brave New World for the SyFy channel.
The Invisibles has yet to secure network backing, but is being produced by Morrison and Universal Cable Productions. We’re hoping that the move to television doesn’t see it losing the rougher edges that made it such an exciting series, and that it opens the door to more adaptations from Morrison’s extensive back catalogue.