Kumail Nanjianiis set to co-write and star in an adaptation ofEdward Gorey’s short, illustrated bookThe Doubtful Guestthat will be directed byItfilmmakerAndy Muschietti.
According tothe Hollywood Reporter,Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners beat out several other suitors for the hot package, which will see Nanjiani and his wife,Emily V. Gordon, write the script after being nominated for an Oscar for their work onThe Big Sick.
Andy andBarbara Muschiettiwill produce the movie along withDani Bernfeld, while Nanjiani and Gordon will executive produce alongsideEric D. ShermanandR. Andrew Boose, who run the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust. Amblin executivesJeb BrodyandJohn Buderwitzwill oversee the project for the studio.
First published in 1957,The Doubtful Guestis a 14-page story that begins with the sudden appearance of a strange, penguin-like creature in a turn-of-the-century manor house occupied by an aristocratic family that struggles to coexist with the mischievous creature, who shows no intention of ever leaving.
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Gorey intended forThe Doubtful Guestto be released as a children’s book but its publisher, Doubleday, declined to do so, as the open-ended story was rather surreal and kind of creepy. The material actually sounds super interesting, and I look forward to seeing how Nanjiani and Gordon approach this adaptation, and what kind of tone Muschietti hopes to strike with the movie.
Muschietti previously directed both movies in New Line’s billion-dollarItfranchise, and he’s currently in London shootingThe Flash, which Barbara is producing. The Muschiettis are alsoproducingThe Electric Statefor theRusso brothers, and Andy is also developing anadaptation of the popular mangaAttack on Titan.
Nanjiani recently starred in the action comediesThe LovebirdsandStuber, and he’ll soon be seen in Marvel’sThe Eternals, which hails from directorChloé Zhao, whojust won two Oscars forNomadland. Disney will releaseEternalson Nov. 5, and that’s not the only business Nanjiani has with the studio, as he’ll soon begin shooting the Disney+Star WarsseriesObi-Wan KenobiwithEwan McGregor.
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