The CW’s president Mark Pedowitz revealed that the network isn't planning on doing a television series version of the violent Japanese cult novel Battle Royale.
The novel by Koushun Takumi is a story that takes place in a dystopian future in which high school students are forced to fight one another to the death, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We were not able to do anything. We are not planning to do anything with Battle Royale … nothing occurred … there’s nothing to talk about … nothing happened," Pedowitz said, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly.
The news that he made a phone call to inquire about the novel's rights was leaked to the press and blew up in the media, but he noted that he was interested in the project prior to the Colorado and Connecticut mass shootings.
The CW does have The Selection in the works, which is based on the books by Kiera Cass and said to be similar to The Hunger Games but doesn't have a violent edge. The network hasn't made pilot picks yet but Pedowitz received The Selection's new script and says it's very well done.