Netflix has scored big a few of its original adaptations of novels recently. The teen drama 13 Reasons Why, based on the young adult novel of the same name, has become one of the most talked-about television series in recent memory despite being completely snubbed by this year’s Emmy Awards. Orange is the New Black, meanwhile, picked up two Emmy nominations this year, while A Series of Unfortunate Events has been renewed for a second season in light of wide audience praise. Now, Netflix has announced an upcoming adaptation of some somewhat darker source material that is already generating excitement based on its casting. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sandra Bullock has been cast in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Bird Box, the post-apocalyptic horror novel by Josh Malerman.
Bird Box, published in 2014, follows a character known only as Malorie who tries to protect her children from an unseen horror. The novel takes place in three different time periods set before, during, and after an invasion of unknown creatures described collectively only as “The Problem” which causes civilization to collapse. The creatures behind The Problem are never quite described in the novel, but are horrific enough that all of the characters in the book must keep their eyes closed or stay blindfolded or risk going insane if they should be unlucky enough to witness them. The novel’s characters must rely on their wits and their senses of hearing to negotiate the new dangerous world they find themselves in.
Sandra Bullock will star as Malorie, the novel’s protagonist and mother to “boy” and “girl,” her two children for whom she attempts to find a safe refuge. Oscar Award-winning Danish director Susanne Bier (In a Better World) will direct, while the screenplay is being written written by Eric Heisserer (Arrival).
Bird Box does not yet have a release date, but production is slated to begin sometime this fall.
