First Look At Syfy's George R.R. Martin Adaptation Nightflyers Is Spooky And Intense

The premiere of Game of Thrones final season is still pretty far off, so it's a good thing the premiere for another George R.R. Martin novel adaptation is just around the corner. Syfy is set to premiere the space thriller Nightflyers this fall, and the series' first footage is loaded with spookiness and intensity, as well as Martin himself waxing poetic about his original tale. Yes, there will be blood, but given the author's other works, that was almost assumed, right?

No, Nightflyers is nothing like Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin described it as "Psycho in space," which was a good sign. Martin's comparison is much more apt, as the bit of footage that is shown is very suspenseful, although it has to be mentioned that no one was dressed as their mother and engaging in obsessive voyeurism. It was all still visually compelling, as blood peppered the ship's windows and bodies of the crew, most of which appear to be dropping fast in the midst of whatever deadly circumstances are afoot. And what about that dude who was straight-up on fire? What exactly is going on in this ship?

Whatever's going down, it's "fucking awesome" to watch, according to supervising producer Sean Ryerson. Hearing from the Nightflyers' behind-the-scenes team during this promo was a good way to keep fans in suspense regarding the series' full story, but also a little disappointing, since the footage fell by the wayside once things really got interesting. That said, there's still plenty of time for Syfy to bludgeon us with Nightflyers trailers leading up to its fall release, so anyone dismayed by these minimal teases shouldn't worry just yet going into this space thriller blind.

The behind-the-scenes team did share some useful information about the show during the video. For example, the fact that the Nightflyers team constructed "acres" for a spaceship set has to get the hardcore sci-fi crowd excited to see it. And it also gives a sense of how much money the production team was comfortable spending in the hopes that this show takes off with a big audience. Given Syfy's track record, it'll more likely be a cult smash than a pop culture phenomenon, but some more recent successes -- combined with the fact this series is a quasi-collaboration with George R.R. Martin -- might be a solid enough lead-in to turn Nightflyers into a ratings win.

Nightflyers is the story of eight scientists and a powerful telepath who run into some trouble on a trip to the edge of our solar system. A string of violent events causes the ship's crew to distrust and question each other, which obviously makes their mission goal, which is to find intelligent life, even more difficult. The series first started as a novella by George R.R. Martin and was made into a film in 1987 that was largely panned by critics. Perhaps with Martin's increased celebrity Game of Thrones hype at an all-time high, this latest adaptation will have more success.

Nightflyers will air on Syfy sometime this coming fall, with more news on the way in the following months. For more information regarding upcoming shows, be sure to visit our midseason premiere guide.