New Zealand Classic Once Were Warriors Getting TV Adaptation & Sequel Novel
EXCLUSIVE: Classic New Zealand novel Once Were Warriors, memorably adapted for film by Lee Tamahori in 1994, is getting a TV adaptation from Wheel Of Time exec Rick Selvage and the novel’s author Alan Duff.
A companion novel penned by Duff called Once Were Warriors: Generations is also being lined up.
Duff is teaming with Onphaya’s Selvage and the latter’s producing partner, Peta Johnson, who will both serve as executive producers.
In the original novel and film a family descended from Māori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
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Once Were Warriors: Generations will bring the Heke family forward 30 years to the present day with a new generation of characters and stories.
According to producers, “political aspirations, financial schemes, cultural clashes, and a search for redemption are at the core of this series filtered through the distinctive Māori culture and the Heke family’s unforgiving past. It will be set against the backdrop of New Zealand’s multicultural society and the universal socio-economic tensions of the present day….”
The new novel and series will be set in Auckland and Rotorua, New Zealand.
Duff said: “It’s these worldwide themes that inspired me to extend this family saga and bring it forward to the present day and to find a producing partner who understood the vision and possessed the sensibilities needed to bring it to a global broadcast audience. It will break your heart. It will make your spirits soar and your senses reel. This is my promise.”
The hard-hitting 1994 movie starring Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen drew strong critical notices and swept the boards at the New Zealand Film & TV Awards, after playing at Venice and Toronto.
Said Selvage of Onphaya: “Who can resist the power of a Once Were Warriors storyline told through the eyes of the rich indigenous Māori culture and the beauty that is New Zealand. I was drawn to the passion in Alan’s storytelling and the exciting new modern world he has created with the Heke family, their personal challenges and ultimate triumph.”
Duff recently assisted with the autobiography of New Zealand rugby player Sonny Bill Williams.
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