'Impossible' director Juan Antonio Bayona to make 'A Monster Calls' before 'World War Z' sequel

Acclaimed Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona will get to hone his skills on another project before he moves on to the World War Z sequel he has been attached to. Bayona, who directed Naomi Watts to an Oscar nomination for The Impossible, will be helming A Monster Calls next.

A Monster Calls will be a co-production involving River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Lionsgate International and Focus Features, reports TheWrap. Focus is set to distribute the film in North America, while Universal Pictures International will distribute in Spain. Lionsgate International will handle remaining markets.

The book was written by Patrick Ness and is based on an idea from Siobhan Dowd. It was illustrated by Jim Kay and won children’s literature awards in the U.K. Ness is writing the screenplay.

The story centers on a boy who deals with his school bullies and his mother’s illness by escaping into a fantastical land.

“It is an incredible privilege to bring Patrick Ness’ exceptional book to the screen and I couldn't have imagined better partners joining me in this endeavor,” Bayona said in a statement. “After The Orphanage and The Impossible, A Monster Calls is the perfect final chapter in a trilogy centered on the extraordinary strength of the mother-child bond.”

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lionsgate and Universal hope to release the film in late 2016.

That means it will be a long time before we see Brad Pitt fighting zombies again in World War Z 2. Bayona agreed to direct the sequel in December.

image courtesy of Amazon

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