Ava DuVernay is a talented filmmaker whose subjects of focus alternate between incisive portrayals of real-life events (Selma) and big-dreaming, hard-hitting flights of high-concept fantasy (A Wrinkle in Time). Now, a new sci-fi series at Amazon promises to blend the two impulses together -- and DuVernay is bringing along rising talent Victoria Mahoney for the ride. Per Variety, the two are developing Dawn, an adaptation of the influential sci-fi novel, for the streamer. The original novel, written in 1987 by Octavia E. Butler, is part of a three-novel series that continues with Adulthood Rites …