Gillian Flynn's Dark Places Becoming HBO Series, Hopes You Forgot About The 2015 Charlize Theron Movie
What if I told you that almost ten years ago, famous author Gillian Flynn had one of her novels adapted into a feature film starring the likes of Charlize Theron, Christina Hendricks, Nicholas Hoult, Corey Stoll, Tye Sheridan, and even a young Chloë Grace Moretz, for good measure? (And distributed by A24, no less!) You'd probably accuse me of lying, since that first attempt to bring Flynn's 2009 book "Dark Places" to life mostly just came and went after releasing to poor reviews and has promptly been memory-holed by the moviegoing public at large. While that was a blow at the time — don't worry, Flynn was probably comforting herself with the fact that yet another adaptation of her work, David Fincher's "Gone Girl," had become an instant hit the year before — that loss has now become HBO's gain.
Variety reports that the network behind the hit series "Sharp Objects" is back in the Gillian Flynn business once again, this time turning "Dark Places" into a limited series. The story follows a survivor of the gruesome murder of a family, seven-year-old Libby Day, who testifies that her brother was the killer. Decades later, she's forced to revisit the events of that traumatic night when opportunity comes knocking and ends up dragged right back into the depths of her haunted past. Flynn will take on a much more hands-on role this time around, serving as co-creator, writer, and co-showrunner alongside Brett Johnson ("Ray Donovan," "Mad Men") and co-creator/writer Guerrin Gardner (to whom Flynn's married).
Second time's the charm?
Sometimes it feels like the film and television industry knows precisely five book writers and constantly returns to the same rotation to wring as many adaptations of their work as they possibly can. Luckily for us all, one of the novelists on every studio's speed dial (phones still have speed dial ... right?) happens to be Gillian Flynn, and the acclaimed author is taking on a significant creative role in translating "Dark Places" from the page to the small screen. And based on the overall reaction to the 2015 film, there really is nowhere to go but up.
Flynn, of course, is much more than just one of the most successful mystery/thriller novelists of the 21st Century. She has previously added her writing skills to her own adaptations of "Gone Girl" and "Sharp Objects," in addition to co-writing the screenplay for the brilliant 2018 film "Widows" alongside director Steve McQueen and also working as a writer on the Amazon Original series "Utopia." With the talent involved, there's plenty of reason for fans of the original novel to hope that "Dark Places" will be much better suited for television. While Charlize Theron was cast as the main lead Libby Day for the previous movie, there are no details as of yet which actor will take on the role for the HBO series nor the ensemble cast that will fill out the supporting characters.
Right now, the operating word in the Variety report is that HBO is "developing" the series — should it get the official green light, /Film will bring you all the juicy details. On the bright side, that should give you plenty of time to do your homework and read (or re-read) "Dark Places" in the meantime.