Wild Cards is nearing a multi-series deal at Hulu.
Per THR, the streamer has opened a writers room for two shows based on the superhero book from Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin. The Wild Cards franchise will exist within a shared universe helmed by Secret Circle creator Andrew Miller:
Set in the present, the series explores the aftermath of an alien virus, released over Manhattan in 1946 that killed 90 percent of those it infected. In the survivors, DNA was altered, creating grotesque physical deformities, except for a tiny percentage who develop super-human powers instead. Called the Wild Card virus, it has passed down through generations, and can go undetected until suddenly activated by a traumatic event — at which point the carrier is either killed, mutated or granted god-like powers. Effects that are largely a manifestation of the victim’s emotional state, making them vulnerable to reverence or ridicule on a deeply personal level. Now, after decades of sociological turmoil, having been worshipped, oppressed, exploited and ignored, victims of the virus want to define their own future.
The Wild Cards franchise is a shared universe of anthologies, mosaic novels and stand-alone stories written by a collection of authors and edited by Martin and co-editor Snodgrass. The book series launched after a long-running campaign of the Superworld role-playing game led by Martin and involving the original authors. Martin and Snodgrass developed the framework of the series, including the characters’ abilities and card-based terminology. The first book was published by Bamtam in 1987. To date, 27 books have been released by four publishers, with other new titles in the works. The source material has been adapted as comics, graphic novels and other RPGs.
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