‘Murderbot’ Interview: Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz

Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning May 16th is the new sci-fi series ‘Murderbot’, which is based on book series ‘The Murderbot Diaries’ and was written, directed and produced by Chris Weitz (‘American Pie’) and Paul Weitz (‘About a Boy’).

The new series stars Alexander Skarsgård (‘The Northman’) as the title character, as well as David Dastmalchian (‘The Suicide Squad’), Noma Dumezweni (‘The Friend’), Sabrina Wu (‘Joy Ride’), Tattiawna Jones (‘RoboCop’), Akshay Khanna (‘Polite Society’), and Tamara Podemski (‘Fancy Dance’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with series creators Chris and Paul Weitz about their work on ‘Murderbot’, their love for the books it is based on, adapting the source material, and the thrill of seeing the cast on set for the first time.

Related Article: Actor Alexander Skarsgård Talks New Action Drama ‘The Northman’

Moviefone: To begin with, Chris, when did you first become aware of the books that the series is based on?

Chris Weitz: Well, Paul sent me ‘Murderbot’, because he had read it and loved it. I mean, he was just reading it for fun and I loved it just as much. So, my first exposure was like a lot of fans of ‘Murderbot’ was just from having the book placed in my hands. Then there was a great audible read, which made it even better. So, it was this kind of great comfort read for me.

MF: Paul, can you talk about your love for the source material and the challenges of adapting the books for a series?

Paul Weitz: Well, there’s no real reason to adapt something. I mean, it’s not like a piece of literature that you love must be adapted. In fact, it’s usually the opposite. In this case, the sort of reassuring thing was that we had access to Martha Wells who wrote the book, and so we didn’t want to take anything out of the book. We weren’t cutting anything. We wanted to add some stuff because it’s 10 episodes. We wanted to think about, the character’s acting this way in the book, what is their backstory? How else might they act when we’re not seeing them in the book? Then also some sort of incident. But we were able to call Martha and say, “Hey, we have this thought or this idea, what do you think?” Then she would either be into it or say, “Well, would you think about something else?” I mean, she was polite, but we wanted her input throughout. So that part was fun and then working with Chris on it was really fun.

MF: Finally, Chris, as a director, what is it like for you the first time you have the entire cast together on set in costume and you begin filming?

CW: It’s exciting. I mean, one reason is that we had quite a lot of freedom because Martha doesn’t over describe the visual texture of this world. She was also very open to improvisation. Sue Chan, our production designer, and Sean Faden, our visual effects supervisor, are both incredibly talented and experienced professionals. We had the resources to make the greatest piece of fan fiction that we could. Our interest was in making a world that didn’t trade upon tropes that have already been done before, which have been done well. But to make something new and something that feels visually like a fun place to be, as well as something that feels true to the books.

Editorial Note: Krisily Fernstrom conducted this interview and contributed to this article.

What is the plot of ‘Murderbot’?

A partly biological security cyborg that privately calls itself Murderbot must hide its ability for free thought whilst completing dangerous assignments and is simultaneously drawn to humans and appalled at their weakness.

Who is in the cast of ‘Murderbot’?

• Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot
• David Dastmalchian as Gurathin
• Noma Dumezweni as Mensah
• Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee
• Tattiawna Jones as Arada
• Akshay Khanna as Ratthi
• Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj

List of Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz Movies and TV Shows:

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