Fans of George R. R. Martin’s work are used to waiting, at this point. The author recently confirmed that the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter, would not come out this near. The final season of Game of Thrones won’t air on HBO this year as well. However, another TV adaptation of another one of Martin’s books is coming along much, much sooner than winter, as seen in an exclusive new photo of the first table read for Syfy’s Nightflyers.
Nightflyers, an adaptation of Martin’s novella of the same name, is set to premiere on Syfy sometime in the fall of this year. Unlike the author’s sprawling, extremely in-depth fantasy epic, Nightflayers is a smaller-scale endeavor, published in 1980 before the first ASoIaF book. The horror tale, which Martin compared to “Psycho in space,” focuses not on dynasties and clashing armies, but on a spaceship crew trying to survive something terrifying.
Here’s the official synopsis, via Syfy:
In 2093, in hopes of making contact with a mysterious alien life at the edge of our solar system, a group of maverick scientists and a powerful telepath embark on an expedition aboard The Nightflyer. As they race towards first contact, terrifying and violent events begin to occur, causing the once tight-knit crew to mistrust each other. It’s not long before their main mission becomes survival.
“Every now and then as an actor, you are given a gift…this show has been just that,” Nightflyers star David Ajala said in a quote provided to Inverse. “To be working with such an ambitious and enthusiastic team is what has made this journey so thrilling. It’s quite impressive when I ponder over all the wonderful moments we have managed to capture on camera. Brace yourselves for this ride.”
Below, you can see a photo of the first table read for Nightflyer, featuring some of the actors who play members of the (doomed?) crew.
The first 'Nightflyers' table read.
From left to right, the cast members in this photo are Angus Sampson (Rowan), Gretchen Mol (Agatha), Eoin Macken (Karl D’Branin), David Ajala (Roy Eris), and Jodie Turner-Smith (Melantha Jhirl).
Nightflyers premieres in the United States this fall, and will debut on Netflix internationally.
