American McGee's Alice Is Becoming A TV Show, X-Men And Watchmen Screenwriter Attached

A pretty unique take on "Alice In Wonderland" is getting the TV treatment. "American McGee's Alice," the violent interpretation of author Lewis Carroll's works from the early 2000s, is being adapted for TV by Radar Pictures. What's more, David Hayter ("X-Men, "The Scorpion King") is on board to script the adaptation of the video game for the small screen. The question becomes, where will the project land?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Radar and Hayter have partnered with Abandon Entertainment on the adaptation. It will be based on the 2000 game of the same name as well as its sequel, 2011's "Alice: Madness Returns." The games were designed by American James McGee and published by Electonic Arts. As for the story? THR also includes a logline for the show, which reads as follows:

The TV adaptation will begin after Alice returns from the trip the Looking-Glass, her house is burnt down and her parents have died in the fire. Alice is the only survivor of the terrible accident. After repeated attempts at suicide, she gets locked up inside a mental institution and is slowly wasting away there before she is summoned to Wonderland again by the White Rabbit. But this time it's a Wonderland gone seriously bad and gory. The only chance for Alice to restore her peace of mind and find out more about the death of her parents is to fight through Wonderland and free it from the evil powers.

Hayter had this to say in a statement:

"American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns game series is a groundbreaking reimagining of the classic tale. It takes you into the heart of a corrupted Wonderland and throws light into shadowy corners the world has never seen. I am beyond excited to bring this world of madness and wonder to a global audience."

There is much to consider here. First and foremost, it's interesting in and of itself that the team is approaching this as a TV show as opposed to a movie. That seems to make sense in the streaming era, since no network or streaming service is currently attached to the project. That having been said, given the unique take on a highly recognizable property, it's easy to see someone gobbling this up sooner rather than later.

Another point to make here is that video game adaptations are becoming more and more popular, as it has gotten tougher for streaming services and studios to find viable properties that can be turned into franchises. To that point, EA has been taking greater strides to adapt its games into other mediums to get while the getting is good. Many of the marquee franchises out there are already owned by studios. Marvel is owned by Disney, DC is locked up at Warner Bros., Sony has Spider-Man, etc. This is kind of the best of both worlds on paper, as it's a proven property in the video game world and an iconic character/universe that is in the public domain. McGee added the following of the adaptation:

"David Hayter brings imagination, experience, and stealth sneaking skills gained through successful missions in film, TV, and video games – a unique combination sure to make this adventure into Wonderland a successful one for the franchise and the fans. I am excited to be working with him and know the Alice fans will welcome him with mad affection."

I haven't personally plates these games buy, from a dollars and cents perspective, I see why this would come together. Let us not forget that Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" made more than $1 billion at the box office back in 2010. Couple that with the fact that horror continues to do extremely well in the modern era and this mash-up could be a recipe for success. Granted, there is certainly a version of it that goes off the rails but in Hollywood, as it exists, this is a bet that someone is going to be happy to take.

"American McGee's Alice" does not yet have a timetable for release but we'll be sure to keep you posted as further information comes our way.