Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) will soon bring us a new world of Peter Pan in Pan, but his next directorial effort will swap a pirate boat for a lifeboat.
Deadline is reporting the director is in talks to helm an adaptation of Charlotte Rogan‘s 2013 release “The Lifeboat” for Focus Features, Working Title and Film 360. Anne Hathaway will star and produce the upcoming film. No release date is set.
Rogan’s novel focuses on a woman (Hathaway) who stands trial for her husband’s murder. She also ends up the survivor of an ocean liner crash aboard a lifeboat. But, the boat cannot hold all of its passengers, leading to some likely rough waters ahead for those afloat.
No stranger to survival tales, Castaway writer William Broyles Jr. will pen the screenplay, as well as serve as an executive producer.
Wright is finishing up Pan for Warner Bros., which was moved from its July release date to October earlier this year. Hathaway will star in Nancy Meyers‘ The Intern in September before returning to Wonderland as the White Queen in 2016 for Disney’s Alice In Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.
Wright is no stranger to awards-friendly material (Pan could ignite some interest in the craft categories later this year), so don’t be surprised if The Lifeboat ends up sailing towards a fall release and an awards campaign. Having the Oscar-winning Hathaway and distributors like Focus and Working Title along for the trip can’t hurt.
Also, two recent films to feature survivals at sea, Life of Pi and Captain Phillips, both fared well come awards season.
