Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time is one of the most revered young adult novels of all time, a science fiction and fantasy mashup that tells a tale of time travel and mythical beasts, and a darkness descending on the Earth.
THR is reporting that Jeff Stockwell has been hired to adapt the classic novel for Cary Granat and his new Bedrock Studios, who is producing alongside Disney. Granat has produced a bunch of similar films for Disney before, such as Chronicles of Narnia and Bridge to Terabithia, which Stockwell co-wrote. Disney is obviously looking to once again jumpstart a new franchise with this film, as A Wrinkle in Time was followed by three more novels- A Wind in the Door, Many Waters, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. There was also another quartet of books on a family a generation after the events of the first, so there will certainly be no shortage of material if this hits big.
Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Voilkis is executive producing.
Researching for this article I was surprised to find out that there was a TV adaptation that aired on ABC in 2004. L’Engle wasn’t too keen on it, and when asked by a Newsweek reporter if it met expectations she replied “Oh, yes. I expected it to be bad, and it is.” A firecracker even in her later years, she made for a great little interview. She passed away in 2007 at the age of 88, so we’ll never know her thoughts on this upcoming film.
As a Christian her books were fairly controversial from both sides-
secular critics attacked her work for being too religious while her
fellow Christians complained about her universalism, as well as Jesus
being included in the novel as part of a group of influential people
that included Buddha, Einstein, Shakespeare and others.
Much like Chronicles of Narnia, it’s a series I grew up with as a child without recognizing the religious implications, merely being stunned and absorbed into the beautiful and fantastic worlds that were presented here. We can only hope they do some justice to the novel.