Readers familiar with novelist, George R.R. Martin‘s worlds of science fiction and fantasy know they almost always have a dark side.

Best known for the bestselling series of novels that became HBO’s hugely successful Game of Thrones, Martin has almost always peppered his tales of aliens, dragons and back-stabbing royalty with the supernatural and the horrific. Now one such nightmare is being developed as a new TV series.

Originally a 1980 novella, Nightflyers has been ordered to pilot for the SyFy channel. Previously adapted into a fairly forgettable 1987 film, Nightflyers is the kind of haunted star-ship story we’re familiar with, but never get tired of: space expeditions that go terribly and horribly wrong.

Written by Jeff Buhler who previously penned The Midnight Meat Train, ABCs of Death 2 and the upcoming Jacobs Ladder remake, the series is sure to bring the horror. Even parent company execs are promising darkness as NBC Universal Entertainment’s Bill McGoldrick shared, “The script that Jeff delivered encapsulates this classic sci-fi horror story and adapts it to a platform where we can truly explore the depths of madness.” As for George R.R. Martin himself, he’s foretelling good things, applauding the script on his blog.

Interested? Us too, but we’ll have to wait. For now, enjoy the 80s narration and pew-pew lasers from the 1987 film. They’re radical.

1980 Novella