Thanks to “The True History of the Kelly Gang,” it appears that filmmaker Justin Kurzel has bounced back from his disappointing “Assassin’s Creed” and is now working on projects that are more in line with his previous, acclaimed work. And one of these upcoming projects is a new series adaptation of the famous Richard Flanagan novel, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.”
According to Deadline, writer-director Kurzel is teaming with writer Shaun Grant, who he worked with previously on ‘Kelly Gang’ and “The Snowtown Murders,” and Freemantle for a series adaptation of ‘Narrow Road.’ The novel tells the story of the Burma Railway during World War II and follows the lives of an Australian doctor and a prisoner of war. ‘Narrow Road’ is said to focus on the cruelty of war, the impossibility of love, and the tenuousness of life.
“I feel extremely honored to be trusted by Richard Flanagan to bring to life this complete masterpiece of a novel,” said Kurzel. “I am so excited to be collaborating again with Shaun Grant and can’t wait to work with the Fremantle team in creating such an epic and incredibly powerful story.”
Grant added, “Having read Richard Flanagan’s ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ several years ago, and being moved beyond words, I am excited to adapt his sublime novel for the screen. My grandfather was a Prisoner of War, who worked the Thai-Burma railway, hence this project is very dear to my heart.”
The author, himself, is also very excited by the prospective new series being based on his novel. Flanagan said, “I am genuinely delighted. Justin Kurzel is rightly considered to be one of the most exciting directors in world cinema today, and Shaun Grant is a marvelous writer of equivalent talent who brings to the project a deep personal connection. It feels very right to me and I have a suspicion that the resulting series may just be astonishing.”
There’s no timetable for when we might see the series hit a network or streaming platform. But with the team assembled, we’re definitely excited to see where “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” lands.