Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’ To Be Adapted by LAIKA Studios
by Tito W. James
Bestselling fantasy author Susanna Clarke is having her latest novel, Piranesi, adapted into a stop-motion animated film by Laika Studios. Clarke’s previous novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, has already been adapted into a successful live-action TV series — so it will be interesting to see Piranesi as an animated film.
The story focuses on the research notes of a scholar unraveling a universe made up of various halls and vestibules. The landscape also robs visitors of their memories and identities, so the notes become a touchstone as Piranesi awaits the arrival of another visitor known only as “16.” The novel was Clarke’s returning to publishing after a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome made it difficult to write and edit.
Piranesi will directed by Laika studio head Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings). He will also be directing a gritty neo-noir folktale titled The Night Gardener and the forthcoming fantasy epic Wildwood. Laika has always been the little-animation-studio-that-could. Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings have garnered loyal fans because of each film’s commitment to exploring heavier themes with macabre visuals. The studio has yet to have a Spider-Verse-sized commercial success. I hope lovers of unique animated stories will support Piranesi when it reaches theaters.