By hook or by crook, it’ll air

I don’t think I’ll believe it till I see it, but AMC has plans for a new six-hour version of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner, a 1984-influenced psychedelic rumination on the individual vs. the state disguised as a spy drama. Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) is taking over McGoohan’s role as imprisoned spy Number Six, with Ian McKellen (The Da Vinci Code) as village boss Number Two, played most notably by Leo McKern. It’s a co-production with Britain’s ITV and Granada International, and it’s due in 2009. No mention of its potential psychedelic properties on the AMC site, but it says the new version will tackle “21st Century concerns and anxieties, such as liberty, security, and surveillance, yet also showcase the same key elements of paranoia, tense action and socio-political comemmentary seen in McGoohan’s enigmatic original.” Makes sense to me.

Find out more at AMC.