One thing the Daybreakers directors love, and excel at, is world-building. And we've got the exclusive update on the new worlds they're building, including Warner Bros.' space-pirate reboot of Captain Blood, and another mysterious 1940s alternate-history film.
While chatting about the vampire world the Spierig brothers created, they shared updates on their next two in-the-works science fiction films, including the scoop on a fascinating new project set in an alternate history during the 1940s.
Michael Spierig: We're working on Captain Blood, at the moment. And that's Captain Blood, the original Errol Flynn pirate movie. We're taking that and turning it into a space pirate movie.
Where's that project at, are you speculating on cast yet?
Michael Spierig: That's about all we can tell you. No, we're still developing the script with Warner Brothers at the moment, we've got a first draft of it and it's good. We're still working on it. It might still be a while before it goes into production, if it goes into production at all.
What can we expect a gritty Firefly crew in space or the big Star Trek more action adventure type?
Peter Spierig : It's definitely action adventure. It's more Star Trek. But I did like Firefly quite a bit.
Are you guys going to do for Captain Blood what you did with Daybreakers and spend a ton of time world-building?
Peter Spierig : Yes, there's a lot of that. In science fiction, you have to understand how it all works. We've been writing a script for a year now that's another science-fiction film as well. It's a period film it's set largely in the 40s. We've spent a lot of time researching, just an enormous amount of time. We've almost over-researched, we probably need to put some of the research away and get out of the script for a moment.
Is this a period piece set in an alternate reality? Are you researching the history, in America, Europe or elsewhere?
Michael Spierig: It's taking elements of history and spinning it, or changing it. Or taking elements of history and asking, "what if?" Daybreakers is a what if — what if everybody was a vampire? How would they live? This is very much a "what if" as well, and asks, "What if this didn't happen, and this happens instead?" Ah, that's all I'm saying.
Captain Blood sounds like it still has a long ways to go, but we're sure Warner Brothers will continue to be interested with the success of Star Trek and Avatar. Besides, we all could use a little more space piracy now and again. We're exceedingly interested in the 1940s alternate history, and we can't wait to see how the events of World War II turn out differently this time around.