After Years Of Development Hell, Blood Meridian Is Finally Happening With John Hillcoat Directing
Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" is a modern American epic, a mythic tale that unflinchingly captures the brutal and violent spirit of the West, devoid of any of the heroism and starry-eyed optimism that's usually part of the genre. Shockingly, however, despite the novel's immense influence and grand cinematic scope, "Blood Meridian" has never been adapted for the big screen. Finally, after numerous attempts from a long line of filmmakers eager to bring McCarthy's seminal work to life, John Hillcoat will be directing a proper adaptation, according to Deadline.
There's an argument to be made that "Blood Meridian" is quite possibly the most savage, cynical, and terrifyingly bleak Western ever written. There are no beacons of justice in McCarthy's Wild West; instead, there's only the scalp-hunting Glanton gang and the carnage that his crew perpetuates. A deconstruction of Western tropes that serve to highlight the racist, imperialist, and sadistic attitude of the United States' expansion out West into Mexican and Native territories, "Blood Meridian" has inspired many a revisionist Western since its original publication in 1985. Unfortunately, a string of failed plans to adapt the prestigious work has made it seem as if the novel is cursed with the "unfilmable" label, though that will soon come to an end with Hillcoat's project.
The long road to hell
Hillcoat has already directed a Cormac McCarthy adaptation with "The Road" in 2009 (seen above), while McCarthy himself is signed on as an executive producer alongside his son John Francis McCarthy. The film will be a New Regency and Keith Redmon production, who also financed the similarly brutal Western "The Revenant."
Screenwriter Steve Tesich first penned a script adaptation of "Blood Meridian" in 1995, which actor Tommy Lee Jones rewrote with the intention of directing. However, plans fell through, apparently because the material was too violent, and the next attempt went to Ridley Scott and William Monahan, fresh off their director-writer collaboration on the historical epic "Kingdom of Heaven," released in 2004. Once again, the violence proved to be an issue. Scott himself said that a proper adaptation would constitute an "X-certificate," but that there's no point in making the film if "you can't apologize for the violence..."
"Tar" director Todd Field was briefly attached at one point and expressed that "a bleak and bloody story has nothing to do with whether or not you can put it on the screen." It's not the violence, but rather the challenge of translating such grandiosity to the screen, which "would require someone with a bountiful imagination and a lot of balls," as Field puts it.
The closest the novel has come to a film adaptation was when James Franco shot 25 minutes of test footage featuring Mark Pellegrino, Dave Franco, Scott Glenn, and Luke Perry. The actor/director even managed to secure a cast for a full-length feature starring Russell Crowe, Tye Sheridan and Vincent D'Onofrio, but he couldn't properly secure the rights. Although there is no news of a cast or a script yet, it seems as if the new project will finally move forward with McCarthy's blessing.