You might think that Warner Bros. would have enough to deal with, dragon-wise, between the Hobbit trilogy’s Smaug and the developing Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts spin-off. But the studio clearly thinks dragons can become a big success, snapping up the rights to Anne McCaffrey’s long running and massively bestselling Dragonriders Of Pern novel series.

McCaffrey’s book range, which kicked off in 1968 with Dragonflight (itself a conglomeration of two novellas) has now expanded to include follow-on novels and two short story collections explores the world of Pern, a blend of pre-industrial feudal society that features Weyrfolk, some whom bond with dragons and team with them to fight off threats.

The biggest problem for Pern’s inhabitants is the Thread, a pernicious spore that rains down on the planet from the rogue world known as the Red Star and consumes organic matter. Through the books, various characters have been established and explored, and the stories offer plenty of material for a potential series of films.

Yet despite several efforts, most on TV, no-one has successfully brought the series to screens. Warner Bros. TV tried in 2002 with Battlestar Galactica’s Ron Moore in charge, but differences in the vision for the series led to it getting cancelled before it started shooting. Then, in 2006, Copperheart Entertainment announced it would try for a film based on Dragonflight, but even with David Hayter aboard to write the script, it never took off.

Now Warners is looking for the right creative folk to bring it to life this time. And given how successful Smaug and co. are these days, the time may finally be right for a trip to Pern.