An adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book is coming!
By Ashley Hurst
Adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s books is one of the certainties in life nowadays. There’s Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, Good Omens, Neverwhere, and most recently The Sandman. His works have a way of retaining the same magic when adapted to the screen, so studios are more than happy to keep ’em coming. Next up to receive the treatment is The Graveyard Book, which is being brought to the big screen by Disney!
Published in 2008, The Graveyard Book tells the story of orphan Nobody “Bod” Owen, a child who is raised by the ghosts and other supernatural entities that haunt a graveyard. It’s kinda like The Jungle Book but with a supernatural twist. The story is one of Gaiman’s most successful works, having been awarded the prestigious American Newberry Medal in 2009.
Per Deadline, the adaptation will be directed by Marc Forster (World War Z, Christopher Robin) alongside his producing partner Renée Wolfe. David Magee (Life of Pi) is on board to write the script. As the project is still in early development, there is no release window yet.
This is yet another big project for Forster, who has a crazy busy schedule ahead. His movie White Bird: A Wonder Story will premiere on October 14. Moreover, A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks, is out on January 6.
The Graveyard Book movie that never happened
The Graveyard Book has its own graveyard of dead adaptations. Most notably, Henry Selick — the man behind the hugely successful stop-motion adaptation of Gaiman’s Coraline — was said to be working on a version. However, this was announced back in 2012, and we haven’t heard anything about it since. A decade later, it’s safe to say that Selick’s adaptation is no longer happening.
A few years later in 2013, Pixar attempted to make a live-action movie out of the story with Ron Howard reportedly attached as direction, but that fizzled out. Let’s hope it’s third time is the charm for The Graveyard Book.
Gaiman’s work always manages to find a way. For instance, he spent years knocking down bad adaptations of his seminal graphic novel The Sandman, but we’ll finally see it in live-action on August 5 on Netflix.
Next. Why Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is so special. dark
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels