Andy Serkis to direct library love story The Giant’s House

Andy Serkis is stepping behind the camera again. Following last year’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, one of his next directorial projects will be an adaptation of Elizabeth McCracken’s 1996 novel The Giant’s House. As reported by Deadline, the script was penned by High Fidelity author Nick Hornby, and casting is now in progress.

Per The Dial Press, the book’s synopsis is as follows:

The year is 1950, and in a small town on Cape Cod twenty-six-year-old librarian Peggy Cort feels like love and life have stood her up. Until the day James Carlson Sweatt– the “over-tall” eleven-year-old boy who’s the talk of the town–walks into her library and changes her life forever. Two misfits whose lonely paths cross at the circulation desk, Peggy and James are odd candidates for friendship, but nevertheless they soon find their lives entwined in ways that neither one could have predicted. In James, Peggy discovers the one person who’s ever really understood her, and as he grows– six foot five at age twelve, then seven feet, then eight–so does her heart and their most singular romance.

Hornby is known for his stories about art-obsessed outsiders and their relationship issues, so it sounds like a good fit. While a number of the British writer’s novels have been turned into films and TV shows, including About A Boy, Fever Pitch, and Juliet, Naked, he’s also adapted others’ work into screenplays a number of times, including Wild, Brooklyn, and An Education; the latter two netted him Oscar nominations.

Sony Pictures just confirmed a third installment in the Venom series, though it is unknown if Serkis will be returning to direct. A sequel to The Batman was also recently announced, and it seems pretty safe to say that it would be weird if he did not reprise his role as Alfred.

The Lord Of The Rings actor made his directorial debut in 2017 with Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. Along with The Giant’s House, he’s also set to helm a forthcoming animated version of Animal Farm.