J. Blakeson is set to direct an adaptation of Rick Yancey’s young adult sci-fi novel The 5th Wave for Sony. The British director, whose debut The Disappearance of Alice Creed managed to overcome initial controversy to become a sleeper hit, is in negotions to take on the film for Sony Pictures, GK Films and Tobey Maguire’s Material Pictures.
GK Films bought the rights in March 2012 before the novel was even released, based on the proposal alone. It concerns a teenager, Carrie, who has to contend with the aftermath of an alien invasion while searching for her brother, and a potential romantic entanglement. The book is the first of a projected trilogy which, based on its success, is bound to follow shortly after (along with the inevitable cinematic adaptations).
Adapted by Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant, production will be overseen by GK Films principals Graham King and Tim Headington, alongside Tobey Maguire and Matt Plouffe. Andrea Giannetti and Hannah Minghella will work on behalf of Sony. The studios presumably want to tap into the current frenzy for YA fiction, after the worldwide success of Twilight and the similar levels of critical and popular acclaim that The Hunger Games received, making a bonafide star of lead Jennifer Lawrence.
Blakeson has had a bit of turbulence in his recent projects, getting pushed around from one film to the next. He was to direct the Alan Turing drama The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. But that’s now in the hands of Headhunters director Morten Tyldum. He is also to direct another literary adaptation in Hugh Howey’s sci-fi Wool, a project that has since stalled somewhat.
More news on The 5th Wave as and when it arrives. In the meantime, what do you make of this? Any thoughts? Post your words below.