Classic Sci-Fi Novel Inspired 3 Movies Without Proper Adaptation

Though many of its parts have been borrowed for other films, there is a classic American sci-fi novel that is awaiting a proper movie adaptation. The world of sci-fi has produced a ton of memorable movies, and they are often based on books and short stories by some of the genre’s greatest writers.

Brought to life from the page to the screen, these sci-fi book adaptations usually expand and explore the ideas presented in the original stories, often making big changes. Whether the title is altered, or entire plot elements are excised, sci-fi films don’t always stick closely to their source material. Other times, source material is used but isn’t credited.

One of the most important sci-fi novels of the 20th century has become a popular source for great movie ideas, but the book itself has never been properly adapted. Some very successful sci-fi movies from the last 50 years have cannibalized story elements, or even directly borrowed the author’s clever title.

The Bladerunner Has Never Been Properly Adapted Into A Movie

Alan E. Nourse’s 1974 novel The Bladerunner was a modestly popular sci-fi book for its time, but its impact on cinema is much larger than its legacy in book circles. The story concerns a dystopian future where medical care is only given to those who qualify, which has created an underground medical black market.

The main character is an assistant to an off-the-books doctor, and he must save the lower classes from a plague. The character himself suffers from a club foot, and is one such medical undesirable in the book’s dystopian hierarchy. The novel makes not-so-subtle commentary about eugenics, and the unethical treatment of poor people in the world of medicine.

Despite the promising storytelling opportunities, The Bladerunner has yet to get a film adaptation in over 50 years. Beat author William S. Burroughs wrote a script treatment in the late 1970s, but the film never materialized. Though it hasn’t been adapted yet, many elements of The Bladerunner should be familiar to keen-eyed sci-fi fans.

3 Different Sci-Fi Movies Took Pieces From The Bladerunner

The most obvious piece of the Nourse novel to be cannibalized is its title, and Ridley Scott specifically sought out the name when making his film, Blade Runner. Despite taking the name, Scott’s film is actually based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and has nothing to do with Nourse’s book.

A bit more subtly, the 2001 sci-fi flop Impostor (which also adapts the titular Philip K. Dick story) borrows elements from The Bladerunner too. The movie’s dystopian world is fleshed-out a bit, and it includes several details that Nourse put into his fictional world. However, the connection is still somewhat tenuous.

Impostor only grossed $8 million against a $30 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).

Only a year later, another PKD adaptation, The Minority Report, also utilized elements of The Bladerunner to expand its worldbuilding. The original novella’s themes of free will were also supplemented by touches of the medical determinism ideas found in Nourse’s book. Nevertheless, none of the movies to use the book have actually credited it.