The Portland, Oregon, animation studio Laika has acquired the rights to Susanna Clarke’s novel Piranesi, according to Variety. The studio is known for the stop-motion animation style of its 2009 debut film, Coraline.
In a starred review, a Kirkus critic described Piranesi as “weird and haunting and excellent.” The novel became a New York Times bestseller, with more than 4 million copies sold worldwide, and won the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. It was Clarke’s second novel, coming 16 years after her debut, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.
Piranesi is set in what seems to be a giant labyrinth made up of hundreds of halls and vestibules filled with statues. The novel is presented as the research journal of the eponymous protagonist, who believes that he inhabits what he calls the House with only one other person, the Other. Twice a week, Piranesi meets with the Other, who enlists his help in locating a “Great and Secret Knowledge” hidden somewhere in the maze.
“I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies,” Clarke told Variety, “and Laika has produced such extraordinary work—movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, full of beauty and wonder and weirdness. I’m thrilled that Piranesi has found a home with them and I can’t wait to see what they do.”
Laika President and CEO Travis Knight, who helmed the studio’s Oscar-nominated Kubo and the Two Strings, will direct the new adaptation. He told Variety, “As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being. She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating and ultimately life-affirming work of art.”
Marion Winik hosts NPR’s The Weekly Reader podcast.
