What will ‘How I Met Your Mother’ alum Josh Radnor bring to the sci-fi genre?

How I Met Your Mother alum Josh Radnor is getting into sci-fi.

He will direct a sci-fi drama called The Leaves, based on a Virgin Comics (now Liquid Comics) one-shot comic of the same name.

Summit Entertainment acquired the rights to the graphic novel way back in 2008. 

Here is the description of The Leaves on Amazon:

Inspired by the real-life Naadi fortune-tellers of India and one man”s legendary experience, Doctor Max Mellick has the universe at his fingertips – a world-renown heart surgeon with a striking girlfriend and extravagant New York lifestyle. When he attends a friend's funeral in India, something deep within him is forever changed. Identified as evil by an Indian fortune-teller, Max is forced to flee the country – to save his own life, but more importantly, to preserve his destiny.

Interestingly, there”s a major aspect of The Leaves” story (which Variety mentions) that”s not in that summary. Whether it”s because Amazon”s doing good work posting non-spoilery synopses or because this is a totally new element of the Leaves adaptation, I don”t know. Variety says The Leaves” story is “focused on a man who must fight to convince the love of his life that they are soul mates when he ends up in a parallel universe where she has no idea who he is.”

The Leaves” screenplay is penned by the comic”s writer, Kevin J. Walsh, and Christopher Kyle (Alexander, Serena). Not exactly proven talents. Nonetheless, I”m intrigued. Mostly because I really liked Radnor”s most recent directorial effort, Liberal Arts, and because I want to see how he”ll handle a sci-fi romantic drama with a Fringe-esque parallel universe conflict. Liberal Arts is witty and charming and has a strong lead duo in Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen. And it has a lot to say about nostalgia and the weird experience of returning to your alma mater when you”re a 30-something, particularly about the polarity between college students who are so ready to be done with school and adults years out of university who just want to get back in a classroom talking about books and ideas.

In any case, let me take this opportunity to recommend Liberal Arts if you haven”t seen it. And if anyone out there has read The Leaves, I”d be curious to hear what you thought of it.

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