A six-episode series, based on guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir, will be directed and executive produced by Trainspotting architect Danny Boyle.
“This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever,” Boyle recalled about the project. If the series is anything like Jones’ confronting and deeply emotive memoir, then audiences are in for a jaw-dropping release and will likely see The Sex Pistols like they’ve never seen them before.
The Hollywood Reporter announced that the series, titled Pistol, will be based around Jones’ journey from council estate homes in West London to the iconic cornerstone of early punk culture: the SEX boutique owned by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. The show will then follow the Pistols’ on their relatively short journey, tracing the rise and fall of the punk legends.
The team Boyle will have behind him consists of Moulin Rouge co-writer Craig Pearce and Frank Cottrell Boyce (Sometimes Always Never). Anson Boon (1917) will play the notorious frontman John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon, while Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) is cast as guitarist Steve Jones.
Finishing off the Pistols’ members is Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes) as iconic bassist Sid Vicious and drummer Paul Cook will be played by Jacob Slater.
Yes, please… 🤘🏻
— Johnny Wright 🤘🏻🥩🥃 (@johnnywright711) January 11, 2021
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Boyle said this on Pistol: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever.”
“It is the detonation point for British street culture, where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion — and everyone had to watch & listen, and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols. At its center was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac — a hero for the times — Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there.”
Production for Pistol is set to start in March.
Just when you thought 2021 couldn’t get any more anarchic, a Sex Pistols documentary just goes and gets announced.
Game of Thrones veteran Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) will play bleached blonde punk icon Jordan in a new series about the Sex Pistols. https://t.co/qRYmNeVbEt
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 11, 2021
