Agatha Christie’s most famous and adapted mystery novel, And Then There Were None, has been acquired by 20th Century Fox. The studio has tasked Eric Heisserer (Hours) to pen the script. Heisserer wrote the screenplay for the remakes to A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and The Thing (2011), as well as writing the upcoming sci-fi Story of Your Life with Denis Villeneuve (Sicario) slated to direct. On top of Heisserer, Fox has set Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) to direct. Tyldum has his own upcoming sci-fi project in the Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) and Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) led Passengers.
And Then There Were None is undoubtedly Christie’s most popular novel, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide, marking it as the best selling mystery novel of all time. The novel details ten strangers with mysterious pasts brought together to an island through manipulation, where they become trapped and – in classical Christie fashion – soon start getting killed off, only to learn that one of the ten is responsible for the murders.
Christie novels are frequently given film adaptations, with the famed mystery writer having had well over thirty adaptations of her works. Some of the better known adaptations include Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Death on the Nile (1978), The Mirror Crack’d (1980), and Evil Under the Sun (1982). And Then There Were None has been adapted numerous times under various titles, including two versions of the novel being adapted in 1965 and 1989 titled Ten Little Indians.
The film will be produced by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb), Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen through 21 Laps. Hillary Strong will also produce, as will Christie’s estate, Agatha Christie Productions. Reports are that 21 Laps, along with director Tyldum – who’s said to be a huge fan of the novel – pitched a vision of the film that had the Christie estate convinced.
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