Netflix has recently filed a copyright for the Philip K Dick Novel The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch. Could a screen adaptation be on the way?
Joining the likes of Blade Runner, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly, Philip K Dick’s 1964 novel The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch could soon become a film or TV series.
Thanks to an anonymous tip-off, Film Stories did a search of the United States Copyright Office’s records, and discovered a tantalising entry. On 23 March this year, Netflix Entertainment LLC completed a short-form option agreement with the late author’s estate, meaning it now has the rights to adapt The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch into a television show, film, or some other kind of production.
It’s common practice for production companies like Netflix to file its option agreements with the US Copyright Office (as this law site helpfully explains). Indeed, there are around 650 records pertaining to Netflix in the office’s archives – on there you’ll find the company’s agreement with Skydance to make The Adam Project, the Ryan Reynolds vehicle that appeared on the streaming platform in 2022, and its deal with Juxtapose Productions to make this year’s comedy You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitvah.
Credit: US Copyright Office.
The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch is one of Philip K Dick’s most celebrated sci-fi novels, yet it’s among several of the author’s works that hasn’t yet been adapted for the screen. It takes place in a future where Earth has been all-but ruined by global heating, and where its population – now spread out on other planets – escapes the grimness of reality by taking drugs and distracting itself with simulated realities.
While we don’t yet know what Netflix will do with its rights to the novel – or whether it will ever get around to adapting it at all – the story’s modern relevance is plain to see.
We’ll update you as we learn more.
Read more: Minority Report, 20 years on: a movie that got a whole lot right
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