Ultra: Everything We Know About Steven Spielberg And Tony Kushner's Adaptation Of The Fascinating Podcast

Podcasts have slowly become the go-to source for new intellectual property that Hollywood can adapt for film and television. Whether the podcast tells a true story or is a purely fictitious drama, the burgeoning audio format has had its fair share of live-action adaptations, primarily in the form of TV shows or limited series. However, one new podcast adaptation aims to take a chilling real-life story to the big screen.

"Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra," hosted by the MSNBC journalist, will be adapted into a film entitled "Ultra" from Amblin Entertainment, according to Deadline. Maddow is expected to produce the series under her Surprise Inside production company, while none other than Steven Spielberg will produce for Amblin. While Spielberg isn't currently slated to direct the film, his frequent collaborator Tony Kushner (writer of "Munich," "Lincoln," "West Side Story" and "The Fabelmans")  is expected to co-write the script alongside Danny Strong ("Recount," "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" and "Dopesick")

Needless to say, "Ultra" sounds like it already has a talented team behind it, but if you want some more info on this developing drama, here's the rundown of everything we know about the podcast adaptation.

The story behind "Ultra" might seem stranger than fiction, but unfortunately, its story actually played out in US history throughout 1940. The America First Committee, or AFC, was launched in 1940 to advocate for U.S. isolationism. While attracting a wide range of people with different political beliefs, they all seemed to agree with fascistic and anti-Semitic rhetoric. The problems caused by this became even worse when members of Congress began joining their ranks, setting the stage for one of the first national insurrection attempts in American history. 

Here's the official synopsis for the podcast

Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to... cover their tracks.

Sounds harrowing, yet intriguing, right? Well, the good news is that you don't have to wait on any further details from Spielberg or Kushner to dive deeper into the story. You can find "Ultra" anywhere you listen to podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible. If you are hard of hearing or simply prefer reading information rather than listening to it, MSNBC has transcripts of each episode on the podcast's official website.

The fact that "Ultra" is being developed as a film is a pretty important one. At first glance, the episodic nature of the podcast lends itself to a potential limited series. It's not certain whether an adaptation was originally shopped around as a series, but Deadline's sources said that it was ultimately Amblin's offer of a feature that was just too intriguing for Maddow to decline. Can you really blame her?

Although we know that "Ultra" will be developed as a film, it's currently unclear when and where it will end up. MSNBC is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal alongside Universal Pictures, but the announcement of the deal did not clarify whether Universal will be producing or distributing the film. What makes this even murkier is that Amblin signed a deal with Netflix in 2021 that will allow them to make streaming-exclusive releases under their Amblin Partners banner. With this in mind, "Ultra" is likely either destined for a theatrical release under Universal or a streaming release under Netflix.

"Ultra" currently does not have a prospective production window or release date. We'll keep you posted.