Edgar Wright Attached To Giant Insect Coming Of Age Tale Grasshopper Jungle
There hasn’t been a single thing Edgar Wright has created in his career that hasn’t been the apex of whatever genre he happened to be taking on. Best zombie comedy? Shaun of the Dead. Best pod people comedy? The World’s End. One of the best comic book movies? Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, easily. But will he be responsible for creating cinema’s greatest giant insect dramedy?
According to Deadline, the nerd favorite filmmaker is set to head Sony’s upcoming adaptation of the oddball young adult novel Grasshopper Jungle by author Andrew Smith. The story behind this connection is pretty interesting and goes to show how easily some deals can be made.
Amazing Spider-Man producer Mark Tolmach is one of those involved with acquiring Grasshopper Jungle to begin with. He friended Wright on Facebook and soon noticed someone remarking that Wright should check the novel out, since it seemed to match his sensibilities. Tolmach wrote his agreement and stated his involvement with the film rights. Wright invited Tolmach to send over a copy, which he did, and here we are, with Wright signing on to direct another insect film. Let’s just hope this one doesn’t turn out the same way Ant-Man did.
Published in February 2014, Grasshopper Jungle centers on teenager named Austin and his best friend Robby. They’re just your average adolescent boys, straddling the cusp of puberty and wondering what sex is like. It’s their town of Ealing, Iowa that isn’t ordinary, though, as it falls under attack by six-foot-tall genetically-modified praying mantises whose only goals in life are eating, fighting, and fucking. Not exactly the most natural plague for the world to try and conquer, but it’s an exciting one, and one that manages to resonate beyond its off-kilter story.
In other words, it’s a perfect fit for Wright. Grasshopper Jungle‘s script was written by Scott Rosenberg, he of Con Air and High Fidelity fame. One would assume that Wright could also be taking a pass at the script, perhaps working with Rosenberg on creating some of those signature sequences that are ever-present in Wright’s work. Just look at this scene below, in the most insane battle of the bands since Bill and Ted.
This won’t be Wright’s next film, though, as he’s next set to direct another genre-bending good time for Working Title Films, the music-friendly crime-and-action-filled Baby Driver, which he wrote. At some point, he’s also interested in getting a film version of The Night Stalker into development. Have we not gotten to the point in science where we just clone Edgar Wright to make ALL the movies?
