Harlan Ellison's classic short story "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" has been optioned by J. Michael Straczynski for a film adaptation.

Deadline reports Ellison granted JMS the film rights after the Thor and Babylon 5 writer turned in a finished screenplay to the author's satisfaction. Now the search is on for production partners and a director; the website suggests that Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro are "the first parties he will approach."

First published in 1965, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktock Man" tells the story of Everett C. Marm, a rebel fighting against the Master Timekeeper under the guise of the anarchy-raising Harlequin. If his identity is discovered, Marm's heart could be stopped from a distance by the Ticktockman.