Amblin are adapting Percival Everett’s James to the big screen and are hunting for a director. Taika Waititi seems to be on that list.
Taika Waititi is a busy man. Not only has he completes filming on his latest film Klara And The Sun, which will star Amy Adams and Jenna Ortega and developing his Star Wars film, he’s now also been eyed up to helm Amblin’s adaptation of James.
James is the latest novel by Percial Everett, who also wrote Erasure, on which this year’s Oscar-winning film American Fiction was based. James flips the narrative of Huckleberry Finn and is told from the perspective of Jim, an escaped slave, who is looking for freedom in Illinois with Finn.
Steven Spielberg will executive produce the screen adaptation through Amblin Partners. Everett will write the screenplay and will also executive produce the film. Universal will likely distribute as the studio behind the film. Variety broke the news of the project and Waititi’s potential involvement.
Waititi’s latest film Next Goal Wins received mixed reviews from critics as did Thor: Love And Thunder. Waititi won an Oscar for his script of Jojo Rabbit, a film which followed a young boy in Nazi Germany. Waititi played an imaginary version of Hitler in the film.
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