A new adaptation of the fantasy novel The Neverending Story is now in the works – four decades after it was first brought to the screen.
Written by Michael Ende, the children’s book was published in the original German in 1979 before being released in English in 1983.
One year after the English publication, the novel was made into a smash hit Hollywood movie – though one that was despised by the book’s author.
The story follows a dorky, motherless child who escapes his troubles by reading a book about a magical world called Fantastica, only to find that he has gotten sucked into the narrative himself and has to stop it from ceaselessly repeating.
Now the author’s estate is working on a movie franchise with See-Saw Films, a studio whose past productions include The Power Of The Dog, according to Variety.
A new adaptation of the fantasy novel The Neverending Story is now in the works – four decades after the hit 1984 film starring Barret Oliver (pictured)
Written by Michael Ende, the children’s book was published in the original German in 1979 before being released in English in 1983
Now the author’s estate is working on a movie franchise with See-Saw Films, a studio whose past productions include The Power Of The Dog (pictured)
Multiple studios and streamers reportedly courted the estate for the rights before it ultimately struck its current deal with See-Saw Films.
See-Saw Films has produced such acclaimed titles over the years as The King’s Speech, Lion and the TV series Top Of The Lake and State Of The Union.
When The Neverending Story was first published in 1979, it became a galloping bestseller in Germany, prompting translations into more than 40 languages.
Michael Ende’s beloved characters include Bastian, the child at the center of the plot, as well as the various magical residents of Fantastica.
Among them is the Childlike Empress, who is struck by a mystery illness just as her realm falls under the threat of a malign force called The Nothing.
Other notable figures include the brave child soldier Atreyu, the luckdragon Falkor, a werewolf called Gmork and a shapeshifter called Ygramul The Many.
After the book’s runaway international success, it was made into a Hollywood picture by the West German director Wolfgang Peterson.
Wolfgang was fresh off the glowing reception of his Oscar-nominated World War II film Das Boot, and The NeverEnding Story marked his first project in English.
The 1984 film of The NeverEnding Story was directed by West German filmmaker Wolfgang Peterson, who was fresh off the glowing reception of his World War II film Das Boot (pictured)
The movie was a triumph at the box office and received a warm response from the critics, ultimately spawning two sequels; Jason James Richter is pictured in film three
One viewer who was not impressed by the film of The NeverEnding Story was Michael Ende, who tore into ‘that revolting movie’ at a press conference in Stuttgart; pictured 1995
The movie was a triumph at the box office and received a warm response from the critics, ultimately spawning two sequels.
One viewer who was not impressed by the 1984 picture, however, was Michael Ende, who tore into ‘that revolting movie’ at a press conference in Stuttgart.
‘The makers of the film simply did not understand the book at all. They just wanted to make money,’ the author seethed to the media.
He claimed that he ‘worked as an adviser’ on the screenplay, ‘because I wanted a beautiful movie’ and ‘trusted’ the filmmakers.
However, he alleged that the script was overhauled without his approval and that he had to go to court even to get a look at the final draft.
‘I saw the final script five days before the premiere and only as a result of a judicial verdict in Munich,’ the novelist fumed, according to a report in People. ‘I was horrified. They had changed the whole sense of the story.’
