Warner Bros.’ upcoming adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies has found its writer in the form of Chaos Walking author and co-screenwriter Patrick Ness, with Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) confirmed to direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Golding’s 1954 novel centers on a group of British schoolboys whose airplane crashes and leaves them stranded on a deserted jungle island, with the survivors splitting into two groups, one led by Ralph, who attempts to maintain a semblance of order, and Jack, who devolves into savagery, idol worship and violence.
The original plan for the adaptation was to update it into a more contemporary setting and swap out the schoolboys for a teenage girls, but sources report that plans have changed and that the film will remain closer to the source material.
In addition to having written the YA Chaos Walking trilogy, for which he won a Carnegie Medal, Ness is well-known for having written the drama A Monster Calls and adapting the screenplay for the Carnegie Medal-winning novel.
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Lord of the Flies is set to be produced by Guadagnino and producing partner Marco Morabito, with Known Universe founders Lindsey Beer, Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Nicole Perlman also set to produce.
Guadagnino is currently in pre-production on We Are Who We Are, the HBO miniseries drama starring Faith Alabi and Alice Braga. The director’s recent credits include Suspiria, Call Me by Your Name, A Bigger Splash, I Am Love, and the upcoming Blood on the Tracks.
