Red Faction TV movie being produced by Syfy; ongoing series possible

It looks like THQ and the still awkwardly named Syfy have more than just De Blob in store for their transmedia tryst: Broadcasting & Cable reports that "Syfy has just closed a deal to bring Red Faction to television via a two-hour movie, which will also serve as a back-door pilot." A "back-door pilot," for those of you not in on television industry jargon, is defined by Variety as a "pilot episode filmed as a standalone movie, so it can be broadcast if it is not picked up as a series." So, in other words, Syfy is making a Red Faction movie, ostensibly tied into the new, more "narrative" game expected in early 2011, with the hope of continuing the production as an ongoing series.

While discussing his studio's transmedia strategy with Joystiq at GDC in March, THQ's Danny Bilson put to rest any concerns that this project is going the way of the Halo movie. "I'm only doing deals where we have a greenlight, meaning we are on the air; we are being made as a film," Bilson said. "You're not going to read about, 'Oh, this producer is going to do the Red Faction movie,' and you never hear about it again."

But that's not the end of this relationship. The aforementioned 2011 Red Faction game "will be produced in conjunction with Syfy Games," adding to the cable channels other ongoing gaming projects, including the Battlestar Galactica MMO and the "Syfy Action MMO" that Trion is working on. Syfy's Alan Seiffert said of the Red Faction deal, "It is the kind of content that fits our genre. It is a great fit for a big Syfy Saturday movie, and if it really works, it is a great back-door pilot."

[Via Press the Buttons]