Paramount has bought the rights to Daniel Suarez’s novel, Daemon, which they plan to turn into what sounds like a surprisingly cheesy move. The film centers around a computer programmer who creates some software designed to kill mankind. The novel and film are named after a type of computer software that can run on it’s own.
THR reports that the film will be produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. THR has dubbed the film a “techno-thriller.” Daemon will take place after the afore-mentioned computer programmer dies, ala I, Robot. The movie will follow what happens in the case of machines gaining the desire to kill humans and the autonomy to do so.
If done well, this movie could probably be only mediocre. If done terribly, this movie could be one of the worst films ever made. It is tricky exploring a subject that has been traversed by so many before. The man vs. machine movie is becoming a genre, rather than a plot. I’ve seen Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator 3, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and unless Daemon is coming with some super new sauce on this old formula, I will continue to judge it harshly.
