American conservative media company The Daily Wire has secured the rights to develop and produce a series adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, via Deadline.
The science fiction novel was published in 1957 and sold seven million copies worldwide. Ayn Rand was an American writer and philosopher, born in Russia in 1905. Her writing was influenced by the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, Immanuel Kant, and other philosophers. Her first two works, We The Living (1936) and Anthem (1938) were widely unsuccessful. Rand did not find success in her writing until publishing The Fountainhead in 1943. After she received recognition from The Fountainhead, Rand’s earlier works saw success. Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s most acclaimed work, while it is also her most controversial.
The novel imagines a dystopian future in which the United States imposes restrictive laws and regulations on private businesses. Among those suffering from these laws are Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden, railroad executive and steel tycoon, respectively. The two combat “looters”, Rand’s concept of government officials that seek to sabotage their productivity. During this time, Dagny and Hank fall in love. Atlas Shrugged has been deemed one of the most controversial works of modern literature due to its perspective on rational self-interest. The plot combines Rand’s own philosophical ideas with that of modern capitalism and individual liberties. Atlas Shrugged is maintained as being one of the main canons of conservative literature.
There have previously been several efforts to adapt the novel into both film and television formats. John Agliarlolo (No Greater Love) was the first to claim film rights in 1992, but the film trilogy was not released until 2011. The Atlas Shrugged film series starred Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black) as Dagny Taggart and Paul Johansson (One Tree Hill) as John Galt.
According to Deadline, the Daily Wire plans to address both show creators and show runners in the following month. The TV series is set to steam on the Dailywire+ platform. No dates have been announced.