Fans hoping to see Douglas Adams’ beloved sci-fi comedy return to the screen will have to keep waiting. After years without any meaningful updates, Hulu’s planned television adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has officially been confirmed as dead, bringing an end to a project that once generated plenty of excitement among longtime fans.

The series was first announced in 2019 with Carlton Cuse (Lost, Jack Ryan) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, It) attached as creators and executive producers. At the time, Hulu envisioned a modern television adaptation of Adams’ iconic science fiction franchise, which began as a BBC radio series before evolving into bestselling novels, television series, video games, and the 2005 feature film starring Martin Freeman.

Unfortunately, the ambitious project never progressed beyond early development. Speaking with ScreenRant, Carlton Cuse confirmed the adaptation is no longer moving forward.

“I’m not working on that any longer.”

Cuse went on to explain why the project struggled to find its footing, describing Adams’ work as “an incredibly difficult story to crack.” According to him, the creative team was never able to find a satisfying way to modernize the material while remaining true to what made it special.

Despite the disappointing outcome, Cuse said he has no regrets about taking on the challenge.

“It was a worthwhile shot to take, because I love that story so much. Even though it didn’t come to fruition, it was really fun to get to think about it a lot, and to reabsorb myself in that story and that world, because it was so brilliant.”

The news will undoubtedly disappoint fans who believed a streaming series was the perfect format for the sprawling adventures of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android. Unlike the 2005 film, a serialized television adaptation could have explored much more of Adams’ bizarre universe and the stories spread across his acclaimed novels.

Released in 2005, the feature film starred Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey), Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, and Stephen Fry as the voice of the Guide. While the movie received mixed reviews upon release, it has since earned a loyal cult following.

For now, however, Hulu’s adaptation has officially reached the end of the road. Although this version is no more, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy remains one of science fiction’s most beloved properties, and given Hollywood’s continued appetite for recognizable franchises, another adaptation someday wouldn’t be the most improbable thing in the universe.

After all, as the Guide famously reminds us: Don’t Panic.

Genre:

TV Mini Series

Release Date:

January 2024

Streaming:

Disney +, Hulu

Cast:

Alaqua Cox, Zahn McClarnon, Vincent D’Onofrio

Plot Summary:

Maya Lopez must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.

Many were surprised when the Season 2 finale of Hulu comedy, Only Murders in the Building revealed that Paul Rudd would be joining the series for its upcoming season, however, it seems his casting may have just been topped. According to a tweet from the show’s Twitter account, it appears that Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep (Out of Africa, August: Osage County) will join the cast led by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez for Season 3 of Only Murders in the Building.

One can believe that Streep stumbled into the series similar to how she did for Season 2 of HBO’s Big Little Lies. With the latter show, Streep was a fan of the mysterious female-led drama and was written into the sophomore season. You wouldn’t be hard pressed to believe that Streep was probably a fan of the beloved comedy series and might want to join in the hijinks along with friends, Steve Martin and Martin Short. Streep will also appear in the upcoming AppleTV+ anthology series, Extrapolations in March.

The original tweet revealed that the third season of Only Murders in the Building has just begun filming. The show has been nominated for tons of awards thus far and with growing popularity as well as the additions of Streep and Rudd to the cast, anything can happen in the murder mystery program. Season 2 released back in June so we can probably expect Season 3 to begin streaming in Summer 2023.