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Why would Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" have a good film adaptation? Is it due to its message and its relevance in our world today?

If a director were to make a film of exactly the text of "There Will Come Soft Rains," I do not believe that it would make a good film adaptation. It has actually been done before; in 1984, it was made into a short film. Making it longer would be difficult because there are no living people in the story.


I think it would be a tough film to make, but if the film were able to do flashbacks in order to establish some characters and backstory, then I think it could be an enjoyable film. As you stated in your question, its message in today's world is relevant. More and more countries are becoming nuclear-enabled, so that threat is still present today.  


Additionally, as modern technology becomes better and better, it is becoming more and more pervasive in our everyday lives. The home Bradbury writes about in the story is equivalent to a modern day "smart home." Everything is automated: the music choices are programmed in and the lights take care of themselves. There are also little robot vacuums, which my family already owns. We have a Roomba for hardwood floors and one for carpets. Amazon sells the Echo, and with only your voice you can control all sorts of things and have "Alexa" find and tell a massive amount of information for you.  


The other reason I think Hollywood might gravitate toward a modern retelling of this story is because Hollywood loves to make post-apocalyptic films that warn of the dangers of runaway technology. The entire Terminator franchise is built on that concept. Mad Max is similar, but less specific as to what caused the end of the world. Hollywood has also already shown that it can make money off of movies that warn against the dangers of rampant technology. Asimov's I, Robot was made into a box office smash starring Will Smith. "There Will Come Soft Rains" has all the right components to make a solid movie.  

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