Yorgos Lanthimos’ upcoming adaptation, Poor Things, will see the fruitful co-production partnership between Searchlight Pictures, Element Pictures, and Film4 continued following the success of their 2019 Oscar nominated feature, The Favourite.
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Mark Ruffalo will star opposite Oscar winner actress Emma Stone and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe in the film adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name.
Poor Things will be produced and directed by Lanthimos from a script by Australian writer Tony McNamara following the pairs collaboration on The Favourite, which earned them both a Oscar nomination for co-writing the screenplay.
According to Variety, Poor Things is a Frankenstein-esque tale set in the Victorian-era, described as a story of “love, discovery, and scientific daring,” which focuses on a young women named Belle Baxter (Stone) who is brought back to life by an eccentric but brilliant scientist.
Irish producers Ed Guiney ad Andrew Lowe of Element Pictures will return to produce the film, having previously produced all of Lanthimos’ English-language films (The Favourite, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and The Lobster). Emma Stone will also feature as a producer on the project under her production company, Fruit Tree.
Ruffalo recently wrapped on Netflix’s upcoming The Adam Project, featuring Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldana, following the success of his recent HBO series, I Know This Much Is True, which saw him pick up a Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award for his performance.
In 2020, Element Pictures’ adaption of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel Normal People become the BBC’s most-streamed series of all-time, earning 62.7m views since it launched in April of this year. Normal People is currently nominated for a number of BAFTA TV and Emmy awards.
