Zuiker: It Would Be Fun To Have Sqweegel On ‘CSI’

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker compares Level 26: Dark Origins to the franchise that made him famous and reveals whether there are plans to bring William Petersen (Gil Grissom) back to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

When Zuiker got the idea for Level 26, which combines a traditional novel with the visual power of short video “cyber bridges”, he wanted to draw in fans familiar with his other work. “I wanted to build a short bridge from CSI to Level 26,” he explained. “I didn’t want my first ‘digi-novel’ to be a romance book and I have so much information from research I’ve done for CSI that it makes perfect sense that I would do a serial killer-type novel.”

Zuiker added that “it feels pretty good with no one telling me what to do. There are no cooks in the kitchen. There’s no network to answer to. I wanted to have something that was unadulterated that I could really run with. Kind of like Joss Whedon‘s Dr Horrible.” But would he consider doing a crossover between his new project and the one that made him famous? “I’ve been thinking about it,” he revealed. “It would be a lot of fun to have Sqweegel on one of the CSIs. It would certainly work. We’ve had some talks about movies, but right now I’m just focused on getting the book off the ground. The next book launches in 2010, so we’re focused on building a strong house.”

Level 26 is a very graphic, violent novel. Zuiker said that was done on purpose. “At the time, I didn’t want readers to pick up the book and say, ‘I can get this on television,'” he explained. “That was my biggest fear. So it’s like an NC-17 CSI episode. The traditional book reader might be feeling that this is a little too dark, and I can sympathize with that. But my thoughts were I’m going to learn as I go forward. Book two will be very much a psychological thriller with less shock value.”

In CSI news, Zuiker said they are hoping for a visit from former leading man Petersen. Now that his onscreen wife Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) is back indefinitely, the question remains whether Grissom will reappear in the Las Vegas Crime Lab any time soon. “We’re trying to get Billy back,” Zuiker said. “It’s really up in the air right now. He’s sorely missed and I’d love to have him back. Nothing would please me more to get Billy back.”