Who loves dinosaurs? Or perhaps the question should be, who doesn’t love dinosaurs? If you consider yourself the former, then you’ll want to keep an eye on Luke Sparke. According to an article from The Hollywood Reporter, he’s been set to write and direct an adaptation of Ethan Pettus’ sci-fi war novel Primitive War!
Sparke is no stranger to sci-fi, his previous writing and directing credits include 2018’s Occupation and its sequel, 2020’s Occupation: Rainfall. The two films, set in Australia, center on a group of individuals surviving an alien invasion. Primitive War will reunite producers Carly Imrie, Zachary Garred and Carmel Imrie as producers; Carly and Carmel are both credited with producing the Occupation films.
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So what does a story with a title such as Primitive War seem to promise? Well, as you might have already guessed, it’s a story about war, and it involves dinosaurs. Here’s what the official Goodreads synopsis of the original book, Primitive War: Opiate Undertow, says about the story.
There is also a disclaimer that states that the film is set during the Vietnam War and is promised to be not suitable for children due to heavy drug use, graphic violence, adult language and references to war-borne tragedy. It’s currently too early to tell if any of that will make its way into the film adaptation, but the Vietnam War has a long, iconic history in film. Compare the themes of any Vietnam War film to a WW2 film that came before it, and you’ll find some polarizing stuff. So the promise of, specifically, a Vietnam War film with sci-fi elements such as this are certainly unique. Sparke gives his thoughts on the first book.
“Dinosaurs in the Vietnam war? What’s not to love about that concept?! When I first heard about the books, I loved the ideas and concepts Ethan brought into them, and we’re shaping our film version into an exciting survival-horror film.”
