One of the most “unfilmable” novels of all time is going to be filmed. New Regency is adapting Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy‘s Blood Meridian, widely considered one of the greatest works of American literature, into a feature film, and have hired John Hillcoat to direct.
Published in 1985, the novel is an epic tale of the violence and depravity that attended America’s westward expansion, expertly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West.
Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a 14-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into a nightmarish world where Native Americans are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.
It will be fascinating to see how such a notorious novel works on the screen. But New Regency couldn’t really have picked a better man for the adaptation. Not only does Hillcoat have experience with westerns – he directed The Proposition back in 2005 – but he previously helmed one of the two other McCarthy adaptations, The Road, in 2009.
That was a success, but not nearly at the level of the other McCarthy adaptation, No Country For Old Men, which won a slew of Oscars. If the Blood Meridian film ends up anything close to that, we should be in for something special.
There’s no word on actors who might be involved yet, but the roles will most certainly be sought after. Hillcoat’s last feature film was 2016 heist thriller Triple 9. He most recently directed all six episodes of miniseries George & Tammy, which starred Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon.
#Peace.Love.BloodMeridian
