Zack Snyder has sold his Fountainhead series twice — both buyers backed out within a week
Zack Snyder has written 10 of the 12 episodes of his Ayn Rand adaptation and told Happy Sad Confused why studios keep getting cold feet.
If you thought Zack Snyder was done chasing his Fountainhead obsession, think again. The man’s been trying to get an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel made for close to a decade now, and judging from his latest appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he’s still not letting it die. It’s all got a whiff of the tragic passion project about it, except instead of dusty archives and broken dreams, you’ve got unfiltered Snyder enthusiasm and some very rich, very wary backers lurking in the background.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the podcast, Snyder said, 'I really feel like it's a good time for Fountainhead. I wish I had Fountainhead ready to release on the heels of [The Last Photograph].'
The Fountainhead: The Long Game
Snyder actually started work on this adaptation in 2018, penning his own script and (by his own admission) leaning quite heavily on the 310-page screenplay Ayn Rand herself wrote for the old 1949 King Vidor film. It’s not a straight page-for-page job though—the bloke did have to make some trims, since Rand’s original novel clocks in at well over 700 pages and even Snyder has to accept TV time limits. Most of his edits, though, were just about cutting bits Rand thought were missing from that former film version, rather than wildly reimagining the story.
He isn’t going feature film this time—Snyder’s now sees it as a 12-part limited series. He’s apparently written ten out of those twelve episodes himself, which does mean, yes, he’s trying to deliver the full Objectivist epic on television rather than cramming it for cinema.
Snyder revealed to Horowitz, 'Strangely, there's a lot of very powerful, very wealthy people that like Fountainhead. So, you know, there's some places. There's some interest.'
The project’s reputation has definitely complicated things. According to Snyder, he’s sold Fountainhead to not one, but two separate companies over the past few years, only for both of them to bottle it less than a week after agreeing the deal. And while he never outright names them, his theory is simple: studios run it up the chain, spot the Ayn Rand on the title page, and immediately panic. He calls it 'controversial', and he’s not wrong—Rand’s defence of individual genius and thinly veiled attacks on 'collectivism' have always put buyers on edge, especially when you’re packaging it as prestige drama.
- Snyder began his adaptation in 2018
- He’s written 10 of the intended 12 episodes so far
- The script uses Rand’s 1949 adaptation as a spine, with some edits
- He’s tried twice to get major companies onboard, both dropped out quickly
Snyder claims he was told, 'We can't make Fountainhead. ... That's a reason to make it right there.'
If it finally gets made, expect Howard Roark, the boundary-pushing architect at the centre of Fountainhead, to once again divide audiences—as he’s done for over eighty years. For now, though, Snyder’s still writing, still pitching, and still waiting for someone with a thick enough skin and wallet to take the leap.