George R.R. Martin’s novel Hunter’s Run is being made into a movie!
By Daniel Roman
George R.R. Martin is best known as the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the fantasy series that inspired HBO’s Game of Thrones. But he’s written plenty of other novels and short stories throughout his long career.
One of those other works is Hunter’s Run, a novel Martin co-wrote with legendary science fiction editor Gardener Dozois and author Daniel Abraham, one half of the writing team behind The Expanse books. Published in 2007, Hunter’s Run is a hard science fiction story with some great twists and turns. It’s a shorter standalone book that doesn’t have quite enough meat on it for a TV show, but could make for a hell of a movie.
Which leads us to the good news: it was officially announced this week that Hunter’s Run is being developed for the big screen by Exile Content Studio. Martin will serve as an executive producer alongside Vince Gerardis, one of the executive producers behind Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
We’ll get to the particulars in a moment. If you’ve never heard of Hunter’s Run, here’s the official synopsis from the press release:
"Hunter’s Run is a thrilling sci-fi tale – and the only of Martin’s works built around a Latino main character – following Ramón Espejo, a day laborer on a distant planet who flees poverty in search of a better life, only to find himself on the run for the murder of an interplanetary diplomat. Fleeing into the wilderness, he stumbles upon a highly advanced alien race who, like him, are trying to avoid discovery. Survival is his only goal, but to achieve it he must find a way to elude these deadly aliens, the hard-nosed police, and his own personal demons."
George R.R. Martin wrote Hunter’s Run with the coauthor of The Expanse books
Hunter’s Run is still in the early stages of development — no one has been cast yet — but there is a lot of talent involved. The film is being directed and written by Mark Raso (Kodachrome), with his brother and collaborator Jason Raso (Netflix’s Awake) co-writing the script. Eric Bromberg, Nando Vila, and Isaac Lee from Exile Content Studios will serve as executive producers alongside Martin and Gerardis.
“It is a dream come true to be working with George R.R. Martin, one of the world’s greatest storytellers, alongside this incredible team of screenwriters and producers. From the first time I read Hunter’s Run, I knew it had all the elements of an enthralling sci-fi adventure, including a unique, flawed, and fascinating anti-hero,” said Exile Chief Strategy Officer Eric Bromberg.
That “fascinating anti-hero” is the beating heart of Hunter’s Run. The basic set-up for this story is not dissimilar to something like Star Wars: Andor; downtrodden man accidentally kills someone and has to go into hiding. But Ramón is a tried-and-true Martin character, as gray and complex as they come. As the press release mentions, he’s also a Latino character, the only one to headline one of Martin’s novels.
“Hunter’s Run is an incredible sci-fi epic that will appeal to global audiences, and an amazing opportunity to build a tentpole franchise around a deeply complex Latino protagonist. We are so proud that Exile can help bring this amazing story to the big screen and beyond,” said Exile Head of Studio Nando Vila.
“I first met George when he showed my film Copenhagen at his Jean-Cocteau cinema in Santa Fe and among other things we discussed a novel he had written that had great potential as a film,” added co-writer and director Mark Raso. “I’m thrilled that from that small conversation we are at a point where we are realizing a both visually and narratively innovative sci-fi adventure. Hunter’s Run is a groundbreaking sci-fi story about survival, exploitation, and the fight for universal freedoms. I’m thrilled to be partnering with Exile to bring George, Daniel and Gardner’s brilliant novel to life.”
“I’m so pleased that after almost 16 years, Hunter’s Run will be made into a film. I’m bursting with excitement for the rich sci-fi universe I helped create with my dear friends Daniel and Gardner to exist beyond the pages of our book,” Martin said in the official announcement.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story as it develops.
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