Legendary sci-fi editor Gardner Dozois' UFO book Chains of the Sea optioned for movie adaptation

Gardner Dozois was one of the most influential science fiction editors in the history of the genre, first as the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, then as the mastermind behind the annual Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies. He was also a close confidante of A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin; the two worked together on numerous projects over the years, including cross-genre anthologies like Warriors. Now, Dozois' UFO novella Chains of the Sea may be getting the feature film treatment.

Studio About It Films has optioned the movie rights to Chains of the Sea, a UFO tale that plays on theories about the existence of aliens. This comes after the story has seen a new burst of popularity thanks to being embraced by the UFO Disclosure community, which sprang up in the years following the revelation in 2017 that the United States government had been running a secret research program into alien sightings.

Published in 1973, Chains of the Sea follows a young boy who witnesses an alien invasion, and the dismissive reactions of those around him which ultimately lead humanity to a dark fate.

"Popularized by Lue Elizondo, 'Chains of the Sea' envisions a reality where aliens, AI, humanity, and an ancient earthbound intelligence collide after mysterious extraterrestrial spacecraft land around the globe," reads the press release announcing the film deal. "The novella invites readers to consider a non-extraterrestrial answer to the mystery of the UFO phenomenon, making it a cult hit within the UFO community."

The mention of the novella being "popularized by Lue Elizondo" is interesting. Dozois is a fairly huge name in the science fiction community, but he was known more as an editor than a writer. Chains of the Sea began picking up steam in recent years after Luis "Lue" Elizondo, the former director of a secret U.S. government program which studied UFOs called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), started recommending it in various television appearances and elsewhere.

"If I could share one anecdotal story of the phenomena I direct peoples attention to a collection of short stories to a novella called 'Chains Of The Sea,'" Elizondo replied in a Reddit AMA when asked for his favorite UFO-related piece of fiction or non-fiction. "The way the short story describes the phenomena is very similar to people in real life that have described the phenomena, personal experiences. While I'm not endorsing this story as being truthful or accurate, I think it provides a fundamentally different perspective and it forces us to think about this phenomena in a different way. Though the book was written in the early 70s, the author had an incredible insight into modern day life and was able to incorporate aspects of artificial intelligence and geopolitical situations that we have today. So if anyone wanted a new perspective of the phenomena in an entertaining way, I would direct them to 'Chains Of The Sea.'"

"Like many in the Disclosure community, I discovered 'Chains of the Sea' when Lue Elizondo discussed it on 'Theories of Everything,' and I've been grappling with the story ever since," said producer Josh Michaels. "We're honored to be entrusted with adapting 'Chains of the Sea' for the screen. The Disclosure movement has been a huge champion of this book, and we're excited to create a film this community can get behind."

"Dozios was a visionary author, and the profound questions 'Chains of the Sea' raises have only grown more vital with time," said Max Strand, Michaels' partner at About It Films. "With Disclosure breaking into the mainstream conversation, bringing the story to a wider audience has never been more important."

The press release notes that, "Additional details will be announced at a later date." But one of the few details we do know is that in addition to adapting the story from Dozois' novella, the film will also "reflect real-world UFO disclosure by the US Government since 2017." So expect this to be a movie which bridges reality with science fiction to provide a deeper look into the way humans reason through the idea of alien life.

In the meantime, Chains of the Sea is currently out of print, so alas, there's no easy way to read it without scouring less scrupulous corners of the internet. With any luck, this new boost to the novella's recognition will see it get another life in bookstores as well.

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