The movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is moving forward with a new director. Hailed by many as one of Gaiman's best works, the YA novel was published in 2008 and followed the orphan Nobody "Bod" Owens as he is raised by supernatural creatures in a cemetery. In 2012, Disney acquired the rights to The Graveyard Book and enlisted The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline filmmaker Henry Selick to direct a feature adaptation. Selick later exited the film, and Ron Howard stepped in at the helm. The movie subsequently passed through various screenwriters, but all plans fell through, causing the adaptation to get stuck in development hell. There have been no updates on the movie since 2018, although now it seems there is finally some headway.
As announced by Deadline, Disney has hired Finding Neverland filmmaker Marc Forster to direct its The Graveyard Book movie. Forster will helm the movie off a script by David Magee, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Life of Pi. Forster's regular collaborator, Renée Wolfe, is attached to produce the movie alongside Gil Netter and Ben Browning.
Although there is no indication of a timeframe for the production or release, the new development is undoubtedly a promising update for those who have been waiting for The Graveyard Book movie for about 10 years now. Forster and Wolfe have already worked with Disney for the 2018 movie Christopher Robin, which was a hit both commercially and critically. So, hopefully they will deliver the same magic with The Graveyard Book adaptation, doing full justice to Gaiman's fascinating story. With the creative side figured out, The Graveyard Book will presumably begin the casting process soon, so fans should keep their eyes peeled for more updates.
Source: Deadline