Frederick Forsyth’s 1972 thriller The Odessa File is to be remade for television in a new eight-part drama, it has been revealed. The news comes hot on the heels of a sequel, Revenge of Odessa, which was published last week and brought the story up to date. The original novel by the Express legend, often described as his ‘second best book’ after debut The Day of the Jackal, was turned into a hit 1974 film starring Jon Voight as investigative reporter Peter Miller who infiltrates Odessa, a shadowy secret organisation of former Nazi war criminals in Sixties Germany.
Now Zero Gravity Management, the production company behind Netflix’s critically acclaimed Ozark and the Accountant franchise has joined forces with UK-based Romulus Films to develop a new drama based on The Odessa File.
It is the second major Frederick Forsyth novel to be adapted for television following Universal’s successful re-imagining of The Day of the Jackal, originally made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the assassin. It was remade for television last year starring Eddie Redmayne as the Jackal.
According to producers, the new Odessa adaptation will delve deeper into the moral complexities of post-war Europe, examining how the horrors of the past continue to reverberate through subsequent generations. The cast has not been announced yet. Before his death aged 86 in June, Freddie had written a weekly column in the Express for two decades.
Last week Revenge of Odessa, a posthumous sequel by Frederick Forsyth with barrister and writer Tony Kent, was published to acclaim. It picks up the story 40 years on – featuring Peter Miller’s grandson Georg and a new global Odessa plot. Forsyth said before his death: “The political realities Odessa describes are still very much with us,” he admitted. “I’ve been toying with an idea for a sequel for a few years.”
Screenwriter Simon Fellows, who has penned the new TV adaptation, described it as “a visually intoxicating ride, with an emotive soundtrack, cinematic visuals, and plenty of danger”.
“This is not a remake; it’s a totally fresh take,” says Fellows. “We’re combining several genres – period, conspiracy, thriller, action, and a touch of the revenge western – all revolving around a 1960s autobahn-fuelled road movie to catch a monster.”
A spokesperson for Romulus Films said “We are very pleased to be working alongside Zero Gravity to bring The Odessa File to new audiences. Romulus has a long history of producing successful motion pictures based on Forsyth’s works and we are excited to see this project moving ahead.”
The highly-successful films of The Day of the Jackal starring Edward Fox and The Odessa File with Jon Voight were both produced by Sir John Woolf’s Romulus Films and continue to remain popular with audiences.