Remember Animorphs? You know, the best-selling ’90s sci-fi book series about five teens who encounter a dying alien named Elfangor and then are gifted with the extraordinary ability to transform into any animal they touch? Well, according to a new report, Universal might be adapting K.A. Applegate’s hit book series into a live-action movie!
This project is being overseen by Universal production head Meredith Frankel, in conjunction with Silvertongue Films, a company specifically formed to adapt Scholastic properties to film. I think we’re in good hands here, as the company is helmed by Deborah Forte; a longtime producer of Scholastic TV shows such as… wait for it, the original Animorphs series. She also produced the upcoming Goosebumps film adaptation starring Jack Black, so her YA credentials check out.
Neither a screenwriter nor director has been announced yet, but The Tracking Board reports that the studio is searching for a director with a knack for the sci-fi genre. Attack the Block’s Joe Cornish and Ender’s Game Gavin Hood have been mentioned as “templates.”
I’m anxious to see what a film version would be like as this sure is an a sprawling adventure series. Over the (whopping) 54-book run, we experience bodily horror, characters who fight, get trapped in animal bodies, and experience post-traumatic stress from dealing with their animal brains. It’s an awful lot to tackle, and the last to attempt it was Nickelodeon. They adapted the series in 1998, starring X-Men’s Shawn Ashmore. While it was fine for what it was, the budget and freedom afforded by a feature film budget could make for a horse of another color. Like a blue alien centaur, for example.
Animorph fans, who would be your director of choice to captain this movie? Let us know in the comments below.
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IMAGE: Scholastic Corporation
