Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Red Sparrow) has been tapped to direct a film adaptation of Kevin J. Anderson and Steven L. Sears‘ graphic novel Stalag-X for New Republic.
Joy Wilkinson (Doctor Who, The Watch) will adapt the source material for the big screen. New Republic’s Founder Brian Oliver and President Bradley Fischer will produce.
Stalag-X focuses on a reclusive human soldier imprisoned in an alien POW camp on a distant planet in the midst of a decade-long interstellar conflict. Believing that his mind holds the key to winning the war, the aliens force mind-bending experiments on him that rip into the deepest recesses of his traumatic memories, which they hope will answer one big question: what is human?
The plot sounds tailor made for the big screen, and with the recent success of another big sci-fi adaptation in Dune, it’s no surprise that another studio is trying to capitalise on that success and attempting to reach the same audience. Anderson has actually worked on Dune graphic novels and was also a creative consultant on Denis Villeneuve‘s film.
Lawrence said of the project: “When I first read Stalag-X, I was immediately drawn to the rich, unique world that Kevin and Steven created. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Joy to bring their graphic novel to life on screen alongside Brian and Brad, who, as champions of bold storytelling, are the perfect partners for this.”
Lawrence and New Republic already have a working relationship, having collaborated on fantasy comedy adventure Slumberland starring Jason Momoa, which is due out on Netflix later this year. Lawrence is best known for his collaborations with Jennifer Lawrence (no relation), but he also has sci-fi experience, having previously directed I Am Legend and Constantine.
Stalag-X certainly has the sci-fi components to be a hit among that demographic. New Republic will also no doubt have noted the franchise potential as well, which Lawrence also has experience with thanks to his work on 3 out of 4 films in The Hunger Games series.
We’ll wait for more news regarding Stalag-X to arrive, and we’ll also wait and see if the success of Dune leads to any more big sci-fi projects getting developed.
#Peace.Love.StalagX
