James Franco to Star in Hulu's "11/22/63" Mini-Series

Well chalk this up to one of the last things I expected to hear today. James Franco (The Interview) has been cast in the lead role of Hulu's adaptation of Stephen King's 11/22/63. The adaptation is being produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, who presumably is putting just as much effort into this as they are doing for Star Wars VII.

Joking aside, Franco will star as Jake Epping, a divorced English teacher who travels back in time to 1958 and decides to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His quest is threatened not only by Oswald and a budding romance, but also the obstinate past itself. Tiny spoiler alert, Epping actually does change the past in the novel and creates an alternate timeline. What happens next I leave to you to discover...

Franco will also be listed as a producer to the nine hour mini-series, so one hopes this is a sign of confidence in the project from the star. Still no word on when the show will premier or whether they will film in Dallas, but stay tuned to The Update for more information as it becomes known. What with this headline and the success of Amazon's The Man in the High Castle, this really is a great year to be an alternate historian with an Internet connection!

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

J.J. Abrams Producing 11/22/63 Mini-Series for Hulu

With Amazon TV moving forward on their adaptation of Dick's The Man in the High Castle, it looks like Hulu has entered the alternate history arms race. They announced in a press release yesterday that Hulu has ordered a nine episode mini-series of Stephen King's 11/22/63 (review). I originally reported a year ago that 11/22/63 had been optioned by Abrams, but now Hulu has finally given them the green-light.

“If I ever wrote a book that cries out for long-form, event TV programming, 11/22/63 is it,” King said in the press release. “I’m excited that it’s going to happen, and am looking forward to working with J.J. Abrams and the whole Bad Robot team.”

For those who haven't read the book, 11/22/63 is about a divorced English teacher who travels back in time to 1958 and decides to prevent the Kennedy assassination. The novel is mostly a time travel story as the actual alternate history content is quite minimal. Nevertheless I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing what Abrams and Hulu have to offer. King will also have producer credits, along with Bridget Carpenter who will be writing the script.

“I've been a fan of Stephen King since I was in junior high school,” Abrams said. “The chance to work with him at all, let alone on a story so compelling, emotional and imaginative, is a dream." Considering Abrams tried to turn The Dark Tower into a film in 2007, I think he has proved his King fan cred. With Star Wars still being filmed, however, its safe to assume J.J. won't be very active in this project.

No release date yet, but I will keep you posted on any new details as they are announced.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.