'Skywatch': Sci-Fi Short Film To Become A TV Series At Peacock

Last year, we wrote about an excellent science fiction short film called Skywatch, which is one of the best short films I've seen in years. Evidently the bigwigs over at Peacock, NBCUniversal's new streaming service, also saw something they liked in it, because now they're developing a Skywatch TV show inspired by the short. Check out the original, Amblin-inspired short film again and learn the details below.

If you missed this the first time around, or would just like to experience the short again, you can watch it here:

That short was co-written by Colin Levy and Mike Sundy and directed by Levy. The two met during their time working for Pixar, and Levy believed in this project so much that he left his job at the animation studio in order to devote his time to bringing this Kickstarter-funded vision to life.

Deadline reports that Peacock has beaten out other outlets for the rights to a Skywatch TV show, and Universal Content Productions and Family Guy guru Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions will produce the series. MacFarlane, who's a big sci-fi fan (see: Cosmos and The Orville, both of which he's involved with) will executive produce alongside Levy and Sundy, and Levy will also serve as a director on the series.

It's unclear if Levy will just be directing the pilot, select episodes, or if he will be behind the camera for the entire season. I wonder if visual effects supervisor Sandro Blattner will be involved. At its core, the short film works because the story has been broken down and reshaped into the perfect version of itself and we actually care about these characters even having spent so little time with them. But the incredible visual effects go a long way toward making the whole thing feel super professional and like we're watching a "real" movie. Will Jude Law, Uriah Shelton (13 Reasons Why, Looking for Alaska) and Zach Callison (Steven Universe, The Goldbergs) return to reprise their roles for the show? Or will they end up being recast? I'd personally love to see more from that trio, should they all be available.

When we spoke to Levy late last year, he indicated that he and Sundy had been working on adapting this short into a feature film. Obviously things have evolved since then, and they'll now be expanding the story out even further than they initially imagined.