When “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” came out in the summer of 2011, its critical and financial success surely was a surprise to many. A good portion of the credit has to go to director Rupert Wyatt who had only made one feature-length film (“The Escapist”) prior to the ‘Apes’ reboot. Despite the success, things have sort of been quiet on the Wyatt front ever since he stepped down from the ‘Apes’ sequel. He’s attached himself to a few projects here and there, but nothing seems to have officially moved forward for the filmmaker at this point.
Now THR has reported that Rupert Wyatt is attached to direct “Night Film,” an adaptation of an upcoming noir novel written by author Marisha Pessl. A production company that helped to produce “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” Chernin Entertainment, looks to want to stay in the Wyatt business, having picked up the rights to the novel. “Night Film” centers on Scott McGrath, an investigative journalist who looks into “the death of a beautiful young woman that was originally deemed a suicide. The woman turns out to be the daughter of a reclusive, cult horror director and McGrath finds himself on a journey of revenge and truth.”
The film is not, at the moment, set up at a major studio nor is there a writer attached to the film. So, while it’s exciting to see the filmmaker about to helm another project, it looks like this is still a long road of ahead of it. Let’s hope the ball gets rolling soon.