EXCLUSIVE: Cary Fukunaga and David Lowery are teaming to write a pilot script for Paramount Television based on the beloved 1985 Joe Dante-directed Explorers, the coming-of-age sci-fi film that starred Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix. Fukunaga and Lowery will write the script and bible, and one of them will direct the pilot should it get to that.

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Both filmmakers are busy: Fukunaga, who just directed and exec produced the first season of the Jonah Hill-Emma Stone series Maniac for Netflix, is next directing Daniel Craig in the 25th James Bond film. Lowery, fresh off The Old Man and the Gun, just signed on to direct the fantasy epic The Green Knight for BRON Studios and A24. On the TV side, he directed the first two episodes of Strange Angel.

Paramount Pictures released Explorers, about a boy obsessed with ’50s sci-fi aliens movies who has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind. He draws it for his inventor friend and with the help of a third pal, they end up building a spaceship. That will be the basis for the aspirational dramatic series.

Paramount

The executive producers are Fukunaga and Hayden Kiessling of Parliament of Owls; Lowery, James Johnston and Toby Halbrooks of Sailer Bear Prods; and the movie’s screenwriter Erik Luke. Fukunaga has his first-look TV deal at Paramount and his TV work includes directing the celebrated first season of HBO’s True Detective and exec producing The Alienist.

Paramount

Fukunaga is repped by WME, Michael Sugar at Anonymous Content and Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler; Lowery is repped by WME and Victoria Cook at Frankfurt Kurnit.