Is “Playground” Timothée Chalamet‘s next bid at a Best Actor Oscar? Maybe, if “Dune: Part Three” doesn’t get him back in the hunt first.
Deadline reports that Chalemet is among the producers involved in the Warner Bros. film rights deal just finalized to adapt Richard Powers‘ 2024 novel. Plan B and Brian Swardstrom will also produce the picture, giving Brad Pitt‘s banner another future awards season hopeful beyond Edward Berger‘s “The Riders.” As for who may direct the adaptation, that’s anyone’s guess at this stage.
As per Deadline, Powers’ latest novel follows Todd Keane and his two best friends from the University of Illinois, through the tech boom of Silicon Valley to the phosphate-mined Polynesian island of Makatea. The story explores love, friendship, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.” “Playground” was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize the year of its publication, Powers’ fourth nomination for the award. Other notable works for the MacArthur fellow and National Book Award recipient include the 2018 novel “The Overstory.”
Snagging the rights to adapt “Playground” demonstrates further tenacity on the part of Warner Bros. in the wake of a successful awards season. The studio reigned supreme this past weekend at the Oscars, with both “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” winning multiple awards, including Best Picture for the latter and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Plan B had a solid 2025 awards season, too; “F1” was a Best Picture nominee, while “Adolescence” won eight Emmys. But then Chalamet came up empty on Sunday night in his hunt for his first Best Actor win. He may get his next chance with Warner Bros. in “Dune: Part Three” and in “Playground” if he chooses to star.
It’s worth noting that Plan B has another Powers adaptation in development: his 2021 novel “Bewilderment,” about a grieving astrobiologist, his troubled young son, and an experimental neurofeedback treatment—no word on when that project will enter production, however.
Stay tuned for more details on Warner Bros.’ “Playground” adaptation as they arrive.
