Edgerton and showrunner Blake Crouch both spoke with RadioTimes.com exclusively.
New Apple TV+ series Dark Matter is a sci-fi series taking us down the road not taken, and it turns out this is true in more than one way for writer Blake Crouch and actor Joel Edgerton.
Based on the book of the same name, Dark Matter follows Jason Dessen (Edgerton), whose simple life as a physics teacher is upended when he’s kidnapped and thrown into an alternate universe.
From that point on, Jason makes it his mission to find his way back home to his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and teen son Charlie (Oakes Fegley), uncovering what he needs to in the alternate life that was created when he chose a different path.
In the case of the creators, it seems the making of the TV show provided their own chance at a different path.
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Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Edgerton explained: “It’s extra dimensions for certain characters in terms of character drama, and relationships have deepened in some ways.
“There’s some aspects of Jason’s family and the grief that they’ve gone through that doesn’t exist in the book, that then becomes a big sort of hinging point in some of the series.”
Edgerton – who came on board the show as not only an actor, but also an executive producer – added the team decided on building the world beyond the novel, with him having a hand in crafting some of these more delicate areas.
“The cool thing about Joel is he’s also a director, and he’s also a writer, an incredible triple threat,” showrunner Crouch explained.
“So when you get Joel, you don’t just get ‘Joel The Actor’, you get a guy who has been on all sides of the camera, who knows his way around a script and he had so many ideas before production, during production, that just elevated the show every step of the way.”
Crouch also had a unique position in the creation of the show as he’s also the author of the book – and much like lead character Jason, seized the opportunity to correct what he missed in the widely-praised original material.
Crouch explained: “I think what it really needed was the build out of the Daniela and Jason Two storyline, because in the book it’s all told from Jason One’s point of view: His abduction, his journey with Amanda, his quest to get home.”
As a result, Crouch believes he’s finally able to tell the tale in its full form.
“When you are going to a visual medium, that’s nine hours, you need other things to cut to, and it was always a little bit of a regret of mine that I didn’t explore more of the Jason Two and Daniela storyline in the book,” he said.
“So this was the perfect opportunity to kind of get a do-over on the book and make it better.”
Dark Matter launches with the first two episodes on Wednesday, May 8, with new episodes every Wednesday through June 26, 2024. Sign up to Apple TV+ now. Blake Crouch’s novel Dark Matter is available to purchase here.
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