Paolo Coelho’s novel “The Alchemist” will be adapted into a feature film.
That’s according to Deadline; the outlet reported that Legendary Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary rights to the the novel.
Jack Thorne, the playwright behind “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and screenwriter of “Enola Holmes,” is expected to write the film’s script.
“This is not the first attempt to adapt ‘The Alchemist’ for the screen,” Joe Otterson reported for Variety. “There have been various attempts over the years, most recently with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios set to produce. None of those attempts has ever been completed, however.”
More details about the film are forthcoming.
Since the novel’s publication in 1988, it has won several awards, including the Nielsen Good Book Award. It is recognized by Guinness World Record as the most translated work by a living author, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What is ‘The Alchemist’ story about?
“The Alchemist” is an internationally bestselling novel, which was originally written in Portuguese. It’s an allegorical story about an Andalusian shepherd named Santiago who consults a fortune teller after he has a recurring dream of uncovering treasure. The fortune teller advises him to go to the pyramids of Egypt. The bulk of the novel is about Santiago’s journey to Egypt and what he learns from an encounter with an alchemist.