Roald Dahl fans are going to love this one! Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is famous for his block-busting, is set to direct an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s novel “The BFG” with British stage and film actor Mark Rylance in the title role.
Rylance’s film credits include roles in Roland Emmerich’s “Anonymous” (2012) and Justin Chadwick’s “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008). He’s also attached to appear in Spielberg’s forthcoming Cold War thriller “St James Place”, which stars Tom Hanks. An acclaimed theatre actor, he has 3 Tony Awards to his name.
In the book, “The BFG” features the friendship between a young orphan girl named Sophie and the titular kind and jolly Big Friendly Giant (BFG) whose job is to deliver pleasant dreams to children. The 2 join forces to stop the evil giants who are devouring children around the world. DreamWorks acquired the adaptation rights to Roald Dahl’s 1982 book in 2010, and E.T. scribe Melissa Mathison has been tapped to pen the screenplay. Matison was formally hired to work on the BFG screenplay back in 2011, so the script ought to be all but ready to go by now!
Upon the announcement, Spielberg said:
As I witnessed on stage, Mark Rylance is a transformational actor. I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I’m honoured he has chosen “The BFG” as his next big screen performance.
Dahl’s writings have long inspired filmmakers. Big screen adaptations of his books include Wes Anderson’s “The Fantastic Mr Fox” (2010), Henry Selick’s “James And The Giant Peach” (2007), and Danny DeVito’s “Matilda” (1996), among many others. The novel “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” inspired Mel Stuart’s classic musical film “Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory” (1971) as well as Tim Burton’s 2005 remake.
Production for “The BFG” movie will start in 2015 and it’s due to open in US theatres on 1st July 2016. No word on when it will be released internationally as of yet but we reckon it won’t be too far off the US release’s mark.