In mid-May, as part of its re-branding announcement, Syfy revealed that the network was working on a new development project titled “Nightflyers,” based on the George R.R. Martin novella. Now word has come that there’s a pilot in the works.

Per Deadline, Syfy has greenlit a pilot for “Nightflyers,” a supernatural thriller based on the story by Martin and the 1987 film; and the project, which hails from Universal Cable Producations and studio-based Hypnotic (USA’s “Suits”), is in the process of setting up a writers’ room to generate backup scripts in preparation for a potential series pickup.

“Nightflyers” is being developed with executive producers Gene Klein (“Suits”), David Bartis (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), and Doug Liman (“Suits”) of Hypnotic; Alison Rosenzweig (Jacob’s Ladder) and Michael Gaeta (Jacob’s Ladder) of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films; Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions; and Jeff Buhler (Jacob’s Ladder), who is writing the adaptation. Robert Jaffe (Nightflyers (1987)) is producing.

“We are looking forward to diving deeper into George R.R. Martin’s chilling world of Nightflyers,” said Bill McGoldrick, EVP Scripted Development for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “The script that Jeff delivered encapsulates this classic sci-fi horror story and adapts it to a platform where we can truly explore the depths of madness.”

Synopsis:

Set in the future on the eve of Earth’s destruction, a crew of explorers journey on the most advanced ship in the galaxy, The Nightflyer, to intercept a mysterious alien spacecraft that might hold the key to their survival. As the crew members near their destination, they discover that the ship’s artificial intelligence and never-seen captain may be steering them into deadly and unspeakable horrors deep in the dark reaches of space.