‘Moby Dick’ In Space Film ‘Mobius’ Officially In Development

We’ll avoid a “call me Spaceman Ishmael” comment (even though it’s highly apropos) and tell it to you straight: Herman Melville’s classic tale of obsession and revenge Moby Dick is being adapted for the big screen. The twist on concept is that the film will reportedly carry the themes and characters over from a sea-faring tale into a space-faring tale.

So, Moby Dick in space, as the title suggested.

First, this news has sort of been on the radar for a while. We Need To Talk About Kevin director Lynne Ramsay made clear her intention of doing a sci-fi take on Moby Dick a year ago, but it was one of those “wouldn’t it be grand” ideas and hadn’t gotten any traction yet. Now, FirstShowing reports that the film is in development under the title Mobius, and that it will be a direct adaptation of Melville’s novel, featuring a space captain who puts his vessel and crew at risk by pursuing … well … we don’t know yet. A giant alien space worm?

By the way, if this sounds eerily similar to an episode of Futurama, there’s a reason for it.

In any case, Ramsay is co-writing the Mobius screenplay with her Kevin co-writer Rory Kinnear, and Scott Steindorff. It’s being called a “psychological action thriller” with Ramsay saying last year that Mobius will be “A very psychological piece, mainly taking place in the ship, a bit like Das Boot, so it’s quite claustrophobic.”

Ramsay is a very accomplished and talented filmmaker, so we’ll reserve judgment on the Moby Dick in space adaptation for now. In fact, the premise does sound very interesting, and good visuals coupled with stellar performances will probably make up for any silliness we still feel by the time the first trailer lands.

Do you think that Moby Dick in space is an interesting film concept?