‘Game Of Thrones’ Creators David Benioff And D.B. Weiss Are Developing A ‘Lovecraft’ Movie
Mere months afterDavid BenioffandD.B. Weissparted ways withStar Warsover “scheduling issues,” theGame of Thronesco-creators have signed on to adapt the Vertigo graphic novelLovecraftinto a feature film for Warner Bros. The duo have signed on to produce the thus-far untitled thriller, but it is unknown if they will also direct the project.
Benioff and Weiss are trading a universe far, far away for some eldritch horror.Varietyreports that the duo have signed on to produce the untitled thriller based on Keith Giffen’s 2004 graphic novelLovecraft, published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo. Benioff and Weiss have tappedPhil Hay and Matt Manfredito pen the script, whileDestroyerdirectorKaryn Kusamais executive producer. No director has yet been named.
TheLovecraftgraphic novel chronicles the life and works of H.P. Lovecraft, who was a seminal influence on sci-fi horror with stories likeThe Call of Cthulhu, The Rats in the Walls, At the Mountains if Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, andThe Shadow Out of Time. His influence was so large that his name has been used to describe that particular brand of cosmic horror of the unknown. The plot details of Benioff and Weiss' film are unknown, but Variety reports that the duo’s take will “tackle the idea of Lovecraft’s otherworldly creatures being real.”
This news comes just two months afterBenioff and Weiss walked awayfrom the trilogy ofStar Warsmovies they were initially set to make for Disney’s Lucasfilm. The duo blamed their commitment to their extensive Netflix deal for their departure, but with the two of them signing on to develop a feature film for Warner Bros., that is apparently not the case. It seems likely now that the backlash over the polarizing final season ofGame of Thrones, for which Benioff and Weiss received the brunt of the criticism, played a part in the duo exitingStar Wars.
Benioff and Weiss remain a controversial set of creators in the aftermath of not just the final season ofGame of Thrones(though many, including me, have been criticizing them since the early days of the HBO fantasy series), but in contentious choices they’ve made for other projects, including the alternate-history HBO projectConfederate. The latter project drew the duo criticism for insensitively tackling race — which could potentially bring up some doubts about Benioff and Weiss' ability to adapt the stories of a notorious racist like Lovecraft.
