Two talented filmmakers are teaming up to write the script for a potential TV series based on Explorers, the cult favorite 1985 sci-fi movie which was directed by Joe Dante and starred Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, and Jason Presson.

Cary Fukunaga and David Lowery are joining forces to pen the script, which will just be a pilot episode for now, and the potential show’s bible—a pitch that includes more information on the show, its characters, future episodes, etc. to help sell the potential series to networks.

If a network does acquire the series and orders a pilot, then either Fukunaga or Lowery are expected to direct that episode. Likely depending on who happens to be less busy at the time.

Explorers followed a boy obsessed with 1950s science fiction movies such as The War of the Worlds who, along with two other boys, builds a space ship to travel to outer space.

Fukunaga first wrote and directed Sin Nombre and directed the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre before taking the helm for every episode of the critically acclaimed first season of HBO’s True Detective. He’s since written and directed Beasts of No Nation and created, directed, and wrote an episode of the recent Maniac—both of which were for Netflix. He also worked on the screenplay for last year’s first installment of the two-part adaptation of Stephen King’s IT, which he was also attached to direct before things fell apart. Thankfully that ended up not being the disaster many feared it would be. But next up for Fukunaga is his biggest project to date by far, taking over the next James Bond movie after Danny Boyle departed.

As for Lowery, his biggest credit was writing and directing Ain’t Them Bodies Saints before Disney hired him to make their live-action Pete’s Dragon a couple of years back. Since then he’s written and directed A Ghost Story and most recently The Old Man & the Gun. Next up he has an even bigger Disney project, their Peter Pan live-action remake.

A handful of years ago a remake of Explorers was in the works at Paramount’s low-budget label, Insurge Pictures, but it never worked out. Instead, this potential TV series adaptation is now being developed at Paramount Television.

[Source: Deadline]

Follow me on Twitter.