Luca Guadagnino in Talks to Direct ‘Lord of the Flies’ Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)

Justin Kroll

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“Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino is in negotiations to direct Warner Bros.’ latest adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel “Lord of the Flies,” sources tell Variety.

Guadagnino and his producing partner Marco Morabito are also in negotiations to produce. Known Universe, the production company founded by Lindsey Beer, Nicole Perlman and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, is negotiations to executive produce.

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Warner Bros. has been trying to get the movie off the ground since 2017, when it reacquired the rights to the novel. The studio had previously held some rights to the book, as it was Warner Bros. that most recently adapted the novel with Henry Hook’s 1990 film.

The original novel follows a group of school boys stranded on a deserted island who descend into a savage social order. When the studio reacquired all the rights in 2017, there was an idea of making it a group of school girls who get stranded rather than boys. Insiders say that plan has been scrapped, with the plot to instead follow a group of school boys.

If deals close for all parties, Guadagnino and Known Universe plan to develop a story that stays true to the text but with a contemporary, ultra-kinetic feel.

It’s currently unclear if this will be Guadagnino’s next film, as the project has no writers on board yet. The Oscar-nominated director is currently in pre-production on his HBO miniseries “We Are Who We Are” and isn’t expected to dive into any feature films until he has finished filming that project.

Prior to his miniseries, Guadagnino most recently directed his retelling of the horror pic “Suspiria” for Amazon Studios starring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton.

Peter Dodd is overseeing for the studio.

Known Universe is a newly formed banner that aims to shepherd development of genre content with a fresh spin, and often from diverse perspectives. While some of its slate is still under wraps, since launching in December, the company has lined up a wide range of projects, including “Hello Kitty” at New Line.

Guadagnino is repped by WME. Beer is repped by ICM Partners.

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