Tom DeLonge Is Turning His Sci-Fi Novels Into a New TV Series
Tom DeLonge continues to channel his fascination with UFOs in interesting ways, the latest being an adaptation of his Sekret Machines sci-fi novels that are being adapted into a television series.
Deadline reports that Legendary Television has acquired the rights to the novels, that were penned by DeLonge and A.J. Hartley, with the intent of turning them into a new series. DeLonge will also serve as an executive producer on the series.
The Sekret Machines story played out over two books, "Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows" and "Sekret Machines: A Fire Within." In the books, a U.S. Air Force pilot, a British heiress, a New York journalist and a former WWII prisoner of war find their lives intersecting as they uncover details of a global cover-up concerning UFO technology that is being used to create unstoppable next generation aircraft. The novels were based off actual events, written with guidance from U.S. government officials.
“Sekret Machines is a non-stop action-packed conspiracy thriller, and we are thrilled to be working with Dan and Tom to bring this story to television audiences,” said Jennifer Breslow, EVP, Television & Digital Media at Legendary Television. “The novels are inspired by real events that bring to it a level of authenticity that will generate conversation and make us question everything we know.”
DeLonge, who was with Blink-182 when recording the song "Aliens Exist," has taken his fascination with UFOs further in recent years launching his To The Stars academy and dedicating plenty of time to researching UFOs. The academy famously published a trio of videos in 2017, 2018 and 2019 that the U.S. Navy officially acknowledged, categorizing “the phenomena contained/depicted” in all three clips as “unidentified” rather than attempting to classify the objects as drones or weather balloons, etc. All three videos were later officially published by the Navy, stating that they were “original, unaltered, and not computer generated or artificially fabricated.”
As for the pending TV adaptation of his books, DeLonge stated, “My book franchise, Sekret Machines, is a result of everything I have learned, and continue to learn, about the realities of the U.S. government’s interactions with UFOs and related matters. With an elevated, thrilling, and commercial adaptation in mind, I’m very honored and excited to have partnered with someone as experienced and talented as Dan Farah, who produced the blockbuster adaption of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, and Legendary Entertainment, who produced the recent blockbuster adaptation of Dune. Two of my favorite modern sci-fi classics.”
“Tom and A.J.’s Sekret Machines books deliver an extremely original, gripping, epic, and sprawling thriller set around the long-standing global mystery involving UFOs, a topic I’ve been fascinated with since watching Close Encounters as a kid,” said co-executive producer Dan Farah. “I couldn’t put the books down and can’t wait to bring the story to the screen.”
DeLonge's ventures into visual media aren't just relegated to this new TV series adaptation. He's recently been behind the camera working on his directorial debut for the coming-of-age film Monsters of California. The film centers on a California teen and his "misfit friends" as they attempt to unearth the answers to a series of mysterious, paranormal events happening around their SoCal surroundings. A trailer for the film was released last month.