A couple of major adaptations that have been simmering for awhile have taken big steps forward by landing up 'n coming directors, so let's just jump right into it.
A couple of years ago we learned Universal Pictures was planning to adapt Laini Taylor's best-selling fantasy novel Daughter of Smoke & Bone for the big screen. Little was heard about it since but now the project is moving forward with commercials helmer Michael Gracey behind the camera. Based on the first book in a trilogy and adapted by Stuart Beattie (Tomorrow, When the War Began)the story centers on 17-year old art student Karou, "whose father occasionally sends her on errands around the world collecting human teeth for a mysterious purpose. The young woman gradually becomes aware that she is part of an ancient struggle between devils and angels and finds herself in a forbidden romance with a warrior angel." The first book was followed up by last year's Days of Blood & Starlight, and the trilogy concludes in 2014 with Dreams of Gods & Monsters. Named "the next big thing" by Wired Magazine and topping charts all around the world, it's no wonder Universal is smelling franchise with this one.Gracey has been on the cusp of a breakthrough for a couple of years but has had trouble getting any projects off the ground. He was attached to direct Disneys Snow White film, Order of the Seven, before that fell through, and for a couple of years he's been the guy for Hugh Jackman's Greatest Showman on Earth.
A live-action take on Hajime Isayama's cherished manga Attack on Titan has had some difficulty getting off the ground, with the most recent director Tetsuya Nakashima bailing and setting the project back to square one. But Toho producers kept the film alive, releasing a teaser earlier this year and now they've found a new director that should make fans very happy. Special effects wiz Shinji Higuchi will helm the film, which takes place in a world that has humanity living in cities surrounded by massive walls to defend against the invading Titans, gigantic creatures that kill people for mysterious reasons. Higuchi worked as assistant director on the brilliant Wings of Honneamise (if you haven't seen it fix that now!), and directed The Last Princess, a remake of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. He's probably best regarded for the impressive effects on the Gamera trilogy from the 1990s.[THR/Crunchyroll]
