Villain To Be Directed By 30 Days Of Night's David Slade

After a successful first few years, including a recent high profile
deal with Disney to produce an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s best-selling,
Newberry Medal-winning fantasy novel The Graveyard Book, New York-based production company Wayfare Entertainment just announced their plans for Villain.
The production company has hired David Slade to direct the
psychological thriller set in the in the unforgiving wilderness of the
far north.




Written by newcomer Josh Zetumer (who also penned the upcoming RoboCop reboot), Villain
is about two brothers forced to confront their dark past as they
navigate the treacherous landscape and freezing weather of the harsh
Alaskan setting. Wayfare also announced that the search for the two
brothers is well underway with the film busy casting the lead roles. The
plot synopsis is brief but hints at a story heavily focused on the two
men, and therefore casting is obviously paramount. I couldn't help but
think of Kit Harrington since his 'Jon Snow' already spends so much time
in the north on HBO's Game of Thrones, but Wayfare Entertainment
CEO Ben Browning added "we are confident that we will draw top-tier
talent to the project in the coming weeks." I wonder who from the
'top-tier' they have in mind?




The project also reminds me of Joe Carnahan's The Grey, a
wonderful January release, with its focus on the northern wilderness as
well as characters haunted by a 'dark past.' David Slade is no stranger
to Alaska, having directed the graphic novel adaptation of 30 Days of Night,
a decent horror flick about vampires attacking a small town during its
titular winter stretch of darkness. And even though his take on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was, well, terrible, I don't hold it against him, and look to his first feature film, the fantastic Hard Candy, as evidence of the director's potential. He's also on board to direct Bryan Fuller's Hannibal pilot for NBC, a project that I am anxiously anticipating.