Neil Jordan To Write & Direct Adaptation Of Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Graveyard Book’

While his track record throughout the 2000s has been a bit spotty (“Breakfast On Pluto,” “The Brave One”) we loved his latest, “Ondine” (which begins a limited rollout next week), and his 2002 film “The Good Thief” is an underrated and surprisingly solid on-the-money remake of the classic Jean-Pierre Melville-helmed French noir “Bob Le Flambeur.” And it looks like Jordan is set to continue in the vein of the fantastical, as he’s now lined up to tackle Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” next.

Deadline reports that Jordan will write and direct the live action adaptation of the unusual coming-of-age book about a baby who escapes the clutches of a murderer who slaughters his family. The baby comes under the care of the undead citizens of a graveyard who raise and protect the child from the murderer who is still on the hunt. Here is the Booklist synopsis of the novel:

While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming.

Jordan is a director that we always sort of take for granted, despite his solid career and interesting choices. As he proved with films like “Ondine,” “The Butcher Boy” and even “Interview With A Vampire” he has an assured hand managing fantasy elements while keeping them very much grounded in reality. We think he is a smart choice here for Gaiman’s book and we’re definitely curious to see how this one will shape up.

The project currently has financing through Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures and South Korea based CJ Entertainment, but no production timeline has yet been announced.