The Neverending Story, the beloved novel by Michael Ende and hit fantasy movie of the ’80s, is getting a multi-film reboot—but with a renowned studio at the helm, the results might just be worthy of bearing Auryn.
See-Saw Films, the studio known for The Essex Serpent, The Power of the Dog, Heartstopper, Slow Horses, and other prestige films and series, has partnered with Ende’s estate to reboot the property into a new series of films. “The story is both timely and timeless, and really has an opportunity to be told in a fresh way,” See-Saw producer Iain Canning told Variety. “How wonderful that we have this opportunity to do a fresh perspective that will have new layers and meanings … We just believe that every generation deserves their own journey into Fantastica.”
The Neverending Story tells the story of two young boys: Bastian, a boy in the real world who’s grieving the loss of his mother, and Atreyu, a boy living in the world of Fantastica (Fantasia in the film). When Fantastica is threatened by a mysterious force eating away at the very fabric of reality, Atreyu and Bastian join forces across time and space to save the world and its ruler, the Childlike Empress.
The novel came out in 1979, with its first film adaptation following in 1984. The story in both its forms gave audiences unforgettable characters like Falkor the Luckdragon—along with scenes that were permanently seared in children’s memories, like the tragic death of Atreyu’s horse Artex in the Swamp of Sadness.
The Neverending Story film was followed by two sequels: The Neverending Story II, which adapted the second half of the novel, and The Neverending Story III, which used original material. Neither film reached the same cult status as the original.
There’s no word on a possible release date for the reboot, since development on the films hasn’t started yet.
(via Variety, featured image: Warner Bros.)
