Last week, I released Batman: Aegri Somnia, a fan fiction novel.
Today, I’m sharing the screenplay adaptation, ‘Chiroptera.’
The idea with writing Aegri Somnia was always to adapt to script, to then produce. Chiroptera is my own IP. The plot, as it stands in this first draft, maintains the original story of Aegri Somnia. I've replaced afresh the characters, and anything covered by DC/Warner’s copyright.
I intend this post as the first of many peeks behind the curtain, to offer a glimpse into the process.
This draft doesn’t offer much in the way of characterisation of the protagonist. Consistent with a screenplay, dialogue and action drive the adaptation. By contrast, Aegri Somnia is very cerebral. It’s likely later drafts will flesh out the protagonist’s characterisation.
To enumerate some of the differences between Bruce and Chiroptera’s original protagonist:
It’s unlikely in the final draft, the character will be American. Over the past week, I’ve been building up a characterisation around a British character, but more on this later. I wouldn’t rule out a secondary protagonist also - a female investigative reporter character.
Not a superhero/superhuman with superpowers
Not a billionaire playboy
origin: parents weren’t murdered
primary setting is NYC, in contrast to Gotham City
no advanced technology at personal disposal
still a philanthropist i.e. benefactor of NGO
No physical prowess
Motivation isn’t justice/crime
No Batsuit
No Gordon or Alfred
No rogue’s gallery
investigation/deduction remains
Not a martial artist
No secret identity
Doesn’t oversee a fictional company i.e. Wayne Enterprises
Not a vigilante
Not obsessional
No Batcave
No Bat-signal
Why I elected to author a novel first to then adapt? I was already in the habit of writing prose, with my last two projects being books - one a fictional novel, the other non-fiction. I also sensed, as the project progressed, I’d alter the fan fiction novel enough for the IP to be original, creating enough daylight from Bruce Wayne.
Learning the author of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, E.L. James, had first written it as Twilight fan fiction, then adapted it to be original, inspired me. I’ve also since learned one of my current favourite writer-directors, Ruben Östlund, writes his screenplays as novels first.
The next steps - after further development, as this is only a provisional first draft - will be pre-production. I’ve very content to take this slow though. I’ll be happy to mount this production at all. If it’s good, it’d be nice, but my main aspiration is to complete it. I’m happy to even extend production and post-production over several years if it means not overwhelming myself. I want to allow some breathing room to gather funds to supplement various stages of the process. I’m OK for it to languish in limbo for six months whilst putting together the budget to improve the sound mix, as an example.
You can download the first draft of Chiroptera here.