Neil Gaiman’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’ Graphic Novel to Become a Movie

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Acclaimed author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman is no stranger to having his novels adapted for the big screen (see: Stardust, Coraline), and right now there are multiple films based on Gaiman’s literature in development. There’s also the American Gods TV series (based on Gaiman’s award-winning book) that is coming together over at Starz.

The list of Gaiman adaptations in the works includes a cinematic treatment of The Sandman comic book (or graphic novel, whatever your preference) series from Joseph Gordon-Levitt; a movie based on Gaiman’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties short story that’ll be starring Elle Fanning (Maleficent) and directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch); and now, a feature-length film based on Gaiman’s upcoming graphic novel retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, as was illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti.

 

Gaiman (via Variety) has described his and Mattotti’s take on Hansel and Gretel as a story with modern relevance, having said that â€œIt reminds us of how paper thin civilization really is. It’s about hunger, and about families.†The cinematic adaptation of Gaiman’s fairy tale re-imagining doesn’t have a writer or director attached yet, but the source material’s film rights have been picked up by producer Juliet Blake – who’s fresh off the financially successful The Hundred-Foot Journey book-turned movie – through her Four Chickens for a Five banner.

Hollywood’s recent fairy tale movie craze seems to have died down a little, though there are still a handful in early development – such as The Little Mermaid directed by Sofia Coppola - while Disney looks to go on spinning off their classic animated fairy tale movies into modern live-action tentpoles in the future, continuing next with Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella in 2015. There’s also a Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters sequel due to arrive in 2016, but that film is a different beast altogether.

The film version of Gaiman’s Hansel and Gretel has the potential to be a thematically-rich and, to some degree, genuinely horrifying fairy tale movie – more terrifying than some of the other Brothers Grimm-inspired fairy tale retellings in recent memory, anyway. Feel free and let us know if you’re interested in seeing a new movie version of Hansel and Gretel, as well as who you’d like to see write/direct such a project.

Neil Gaiman’s Hansel and Gretel graphic novel will be available in hardcover on October 28th, 2014.

 

http://screenrant.com/neil-gaiman-hansel-gretel-comic-book-movie/