Yahoo News Laika Picks Up Rights to Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’; Travis Knight to Direct Adaptation of the Novel
Laika has acquired the rights to fantasy novel “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke and will make an animated adaptation directed by its president and CEO Travis Knight.
Knight, who previously helmed the studio’s Oscar-nominated “Kubo and the Two Strings” as well as “Bumblebee” from the Transformers franchise, said of the novel :”‘Piranesi’ is a treasure, and very dear to me. As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being. She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with ‘Piranesi,‘ Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I’m humbled that she chose Laika as her home.”
More from Variety
A New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller with over 4 million copies sold, “Piranesi” was awarded the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Clarke also authored “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,” which was adapted for a television.
“Animation is one of my favorite things,” said Clarke. “I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies; and Laika has produced such extraordinary work — movies like ‘Coraline’ and ‘Kubo and the Two Strings,’ full of beauty and wonder and weirdness. I’m thrilled that ‘Piranesi’ has found a home with them and I can’t wait to see what they do.”
In the story, which is set in a dreamlike alternative reality, Piranesi lives in a house in which “rooms are infinite, its corridors endless. … Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned.” The book’s description reads: “There is one other person in the house―a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.”
Clarke is represented by Nick Marston and Katie Battcock at Curtis Brown.
Portland, Ore.-based animation studio Laika is currently in production on “Wildwood,” helmed by Knight and based on the novel by Colin Meloy. The studio’s debut animated feature, the Henry Selick-directed “Coraline,” has been remastered in stereoscopic 3D and is set for a 15th anniversary rerelease in August.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
