Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter gives a few more details on the Mayan project he’s going to work on during his hiatus from The Bastard Executioner…
Sons of Anarchy fans all rejoiced when creator Kurt Sutter revealed recently that he was working on an idea to launch a new series based on the Mayan motorcycle club that first premiered in the iconic outlaw biker show.
Sutter stated at the time that the Mayan club was no different than the Sons of Anarchy, just rooted in a different culture, which he was happy to explore.
The good news is the center of this new Mayan show would still be familiar to Sons of Anarchy fans. The potentially bad news was Sutter had no plans to base the show in Northern California or use previous characters like the leader of the Mayans, Marcus Alvarez, played on Sons of Anarchy by Emilio Rivera.
Sutter stated that he didn’t want to step on the mythology he worked so hard to create over seven seasons on Sons of Anarchy, but as he revealed in a new interview this week, that doesn’t mean some characters fans have come to know and love couldn’t pop up on the new show.
“I would do a contemporary piece, not a prequel, and place it far enough away from Northern California that it wouldn’t step on the mythology that’s already been told,” Sutter said. “It doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be some cool, ironic crossovers with familiar characters as the series progressed. I wouldn’t want to set it too close to the world we already know, and step on that. It would be cannibalizing what we worked very hard to create and I wouldn’t do anything to undermine.
“We’re figuring out what that would look like and I’m in the process of meeting with writers and narrowing it down. My intent is, over the hiatus I’ll initiate a script for the pilot and take it from there.”
According to Sutter, if everything works out for his Sons of Anarchy Mayans series, he wouldn’t be the show runner but would instead hand over lead writer and show running duties to somebody he trusts and someone who understands the Latin culture that would be told in a series based on this particular motorcycle club.
“This is cool because I love the genre and the subculture. It’s a fun way to dip my toe in that world without risking anything. If it doesn’t work, I don’t feel like I’ve shit on what I’ve already created. If it does work, it exists on its own because it would be a very different show,” Sutter said. “The world elements would be similar but the subculture and the influence of Spanish culture creates a different energy.
“Whoever I hire to write that show is going to know the culture. I wouldn’t necessarily even feel comfortable running a show like that, being a white guy from New Jersey. I really want to bring somebody I can guide with what I know, letting them put their life, family and cultural experience to add layers that I can’t provide.”
If Sutter’s plan comes to pass, he could have a script to present to FX at some point in 2016 and given the huge popularity of Sons of Anarchy, it’s more than likely the network would take the show to pilot as quickly as possible.
When Sons of Anarchy went off the air in 2014, it was the most popular and most watched show in FX history and remains a massive piece of pop culture that could survive for decades.
H/T: Deadline
