Upgrade: Amblin To Adapt Blake Crouch's Upcoming Sci-Fi Novel

Sci-fi author Blake Crouch is no stranger to the industry. His "Wayward Pines" trilogy was adapted into a series that was executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, his novel "Good Behavior" became a TV series on TNT starring Michelle Dockery ("Downton Abbey"), and his runaway hit "Recursion" was picked up by Netflix via Shonda Rhimes and Matt Reeves, so it's no surprise that his upcoming novel already has a deal locked and loaded. If you haven't read any of his work yet, now is a good time to crunch down on some delicious sci-fi. You'll be getting into him right before he hits peak non-sci-fi fan popularity, so you can feel vaguely smug when your coworkers start talking about him (which is what I did with "Dune," and it has weirdly paid off). 

The upcoming novel in question is called "Upgrade" and it has been officially acquired by Amblin Partners, the big name entertainment and production company chaired by Steven Spielberg. According to Deadline, the acquisition was competitive and several other streaming services and studios were also interested in the project, which is not surprising when you consider how popular Crouch's last few novels have been and our extreme need for content. Almost any content, really.

The "Upgrade" novel will be released on July 12, 2022 and tells the story of a man whose genome has been hacked, giving him new "upgraded" abilities. Before long, he realizes that his own personal "evolution" is a portent of bad things to come, and he has to step in and stop the world from changing. It's been described as a sci-fi/thriller, which absolutely makes it the perfect beach read. Throw this one in your bag, pour yourself a margarita, and head for the beach, because we have no idea when the movie/TV series will drop, so you might as well get the jump on it.

So far we don't know much about the "Upgrade" adaptation, including whether it will be a movie or a TV series, but Crouch will be adapting the screenplay and serving as executive producer, so at the very least we'll probably get something faithful to the novel's plot. Until those hot press releases start dropping, you have plenty of time to wade into the world of Crouch, either his books or his previous adaptations, and get on what's hot in sci-fi right now. Whether you go for the novels "Recursion" or "Dark Matter" or start with the "Wayward Pines" TV show, hey, it's something to do.