John Scalzi's Old Man's War to Be Adapted Into Syfy Show Ghost Brigades

Syfy seems to be following through on their promise of "more space operas, less Sharknado," as they have just ordered a series based on the Hugo award-nominated military sci-fi book series Old Man's War.

Old Man's War, written by John Scalzi, follows a 75-year-old man who joins the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF), a military unit that protects interplanetary human colonists. It takes place in a future in which humanity is competing with a myriad of alien life forms for the few planets in the universe that are capable of sustaining life. In order to be suitable for the CDF, the protagonist's consciousness is transplanted into an enhanced, if slightly mutated, body that was built using his own DNA. This body gives him super strength, dexterity, enhanced senses, and the ability to communicate with fellow soldiers via a neural interface. While he is performing his military duties, he finds himself caught up in a conspiracy involving a mysterious organization called the Ghost Brigades. Old Man's War is the first installment in the series, followed by The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony, Zoe's Tale, and The Human Division.

Scott Stuber (Safe House) and two-time Oscar nominee WolfGang Petersen will head the project, with Scalzi serving as executive producer. It was originally optioned for a film several years ago with Petersen attached to direct, but the project entered development hell and was never made. When "asked" what happened to the film project, Scalzi said in an interview with himself on his personal blog, "Things change. People change. Hairstyles change. And eventually the option on the film ran out. So we got to sell it again, this time for TV."

When asked why the show would be called "Ghost Brigades" instead of "Old Man's War," he said: "Because Ghost Brigades sounds sexier, basically." He also revealed that he is working on another installment in the series.