William Broyles Jr. is set to write the screenplay for Universal’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.
Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey are producing through their Playtone and Harpo companies, respectively. The project reteams Broyles with Hanks; Broyles wrote the Cast Away and Apollo 13.
The film will be based on the David Wroblewski novel, which centers on the titular teenage mute who, caught in a long-standing intense family conflict, flees into the Wisconsin woods with three of the extraordinary dogs that his family raises and trains.
Playtone’s Gary Goetzman and Harpo’s Kate Forte are also producing.
