Many are familiar with the classic novel Lord of the Flies, though you may not know that a situation like that actually happened, in which a group of boys ended up living on a deserted island for over a year. With a fascinating story like that, you would think Hollywood would definitely take an opportunity to make a film based on this situation. Fortunately the project, known as The Real Lord of the Flies from Rutger Bregman, is now in production through New Regency Films.

New Regency bought the story’s rights through a seven figure deal currently being negotiated with UK outfit The Agency. This remarkable true story was made known through The Guardian during a preview of Rutger Bregman’s new book Humankind, which deals with six teenage friends in 1965 who escape from boarding school, only to be washed up on a deserted island for 15 months. Bregman was fascinated by the tale when meeting the Australian sailor who ended up saving the boys, inspiring him to make their story  known to the world.

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Bregman discussed more about this purchase through his Twitter page, including how New Regency decided the story and how one of the producers wanted to “strive for cultural authenticity and work as much as possible with local crew/ filmmakers.” Bregman’s story seems like the perfect kind of true event that could be made into a very gripping drama.

While the concept is eerily similar to Lord of the Flies, Bregman’s true version was more focused on friendship and loyalty, rather than boys turning on one another due to isolation. He expressed a ton of excitement for this film, stating that, “I’m so grateful and honored that I could have played a role in all of this. We think New Regency can make this into an unforgettable movie.”