Amazon’s latest project is a very welcome and ambitious one, as it looks to bring Iain M Banks’ series of Culture novels to the screen.

Utopia creator Dennis Kelly is set to adapt the books, using Consider Phlebas as a basis for the new series. It’s the first of nine books in the Culture series, and Amazon clearly has eyes on a long-running series here.

“The story of the Culture is so rich and captivating that for years Hollywood has been trying to bring this utopian society to life on the screen. We are honoured that we have been chosen, along with Dennis Kelly and Plan B Entertainment, to make Consider Phlebas into a television series we think will be loved by fans for years to come”, a statement from Amazon Studios’ Sharon Tal Yguado read.

As for Kelly? “Iain Banks has long been a hero of mine, and his innate warmth, humour and humanism shines through these novels. Far from being the dystopian nightmares that we are used to, Banks creates a kind of flawed paradise, a society truly worth fighting for – rather than a warning from the future, his books are a beckoning”.

There’s no word yet on when Amazon would look to start production, but if Kelly is only now starting on the adaptation, it’s clearly going to take some time. As we hear more, we’ll let you know.