Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Karn Evil 9' is being turned into sci-fi movie

The 1973 piece of music, which forms the majority of ELP’s 1973 masterpiece ‘Brain Salad Surgery’, clocks in at almost 30 minutes and is divided into three “Impressions” that tell the futuristic dystopian story of humankind’s war with computers.

According to Deadline, independent production company Radar Pictures have acquired the rights to the big screen adaptation of ‘Karn Evil 9’.

The CEO of Radar Pictures, American media mogul Ted Field, will executive produce. He has worked on dozens of movies over the decades including Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Arachnophobia, and the recently revived Jumanji series.

Robopocalypse author Daniel H. Wilson will write the screenplay that will be directly inspired by the Keith Emerson penned music and the lyrics created by Greg Lake and King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield 47 years ago.

Michael Napoliello and Maria Frisk are listed as the producers of the movie, with ELP’s management also directly involved.

“The visionary world that ELP created with their recording Karn Evil 9 is much closer to reality today,” Ted Field told Deadline. “Our team at Radar looks forward to bringing this vision of where things may be headed to the big screen and beyond.”

Daniel H Wilson enthuses: “I’m incredibly excited to partner with Ted and Radar to explore Karn Evil 9—a unique and thrilling world. I couldn’t ask for better collaborators and I can’t wait to help add the Karn Evil 9 franchise to the Radar family.”

A brief plot synopsis for the film reads: “In a ruthless technocracy, ‘Karn Evil’ – a macabre rite of passage – is a young person’s shot at freedom before indoctrination. When a teen disappears, there’s rebellion against the ruling class and its AI. Inspired by ELP’s masterwork.”

For those of you with a spare half-hour, here’s ELP’s ‘Karn Evil 9’ in its unadulterated entirety: