Kenneth Branagh To Direct Adaptation Of Swedish Novel ‘Italian Shoes’
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Kenneth Branaghelected not to pursue the director’s gig on Marvel Studios’Thorsequel, and now we know the film he’ll make instead. The director will helmItalian Shoes, based onHenning Mankell’s meditative novel of the same name.
Producing will be the Swedish company Yellow Bird. You might not know that name, but you’ll probably recognize the company’s logo, as it is tacked on the front of the originalThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as well as on the other two Millennium Trilogy novel adaptations that follow it and the film Headhunters, which played Fantastic Fest and is already set up to be remade.
Varietyreports that Branagh has the job. It positions the film as a thriller, but while Mankell is a very well-known crime author — he has sold millions of books featuring a character named Inspector Wallander — this is a different sort of story. Here’s theBooklistrecap, via Amazon:
Not exactly a thriller, unless one considers that what is in peril here is the character’s well-being or his conscience.
This isn’t the first news of Branagh’s association with Mankell. He has already starred inWallander, the UK television adaptation of Inspector Wallander stories, also produced by Yellow Bird. And in January of this year, the possibility of Branagh directingItalian Shoeswasreportedin Sweden. At that pointAnthony Hopkinswas mentioned as a possible star. Variety’s report today does not highlight any actor as a likely lead.
Richard Cottan, who also wrote for theWallanderseries, wrote the script for the film version ofItalian Shoes.
