Travis Knight will direct the adaptation of the fantasy novel PIRANESI for Laika

Stop-motion animation studio Laika has acquired the rights to the best-selling fantasy novel Piranesi Of Susanna Clarkeand founder of Laika Travis Knight is set to direct an animated adaptation.

Knight is the director behind it Kubo and the Two-String, Hornetand the imminent Masters of the Universe movie. He is a very talented director and … Piranesi it will be a big project for him.

Awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021, the story for Piranesi is set in a dreamlike alternative reality, and follows Piranesi, “whose house is not just any building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors infinite, its walls are lined with thousands and thousands of statues, each one different from all the others other.

“An ocean is imprisoned in the labyrinth of the rooms; the waves thunder on the stairs, the rooms flood in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is another person in the house, “a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great Secret Knowledge.

“But as Piranesi explores, evidence of the existence of another person emerges, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.”

Knight shared in a statement: “Piranesi he is a treasure, and he is very dear to me. As a filmmaker, I can hardly imagine a more joyful experience than wandering the worlds that Susanna dreamed of existing.

“She is one of my favorite authors ever, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating, and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I am honored that she has chosen LAIKA as her home.”

Clarke said of the project: “Animation is one of my favorite things. I was inspired by many animated films; and LAIKA has produced amazing work: films like Coraline AND Kubo and the Two-String, full of beauty, wonder and strangeness. I’m thrilled about it Piranesi has found a home with them and I can’t wait to see what they do.”

I don’t know the book, but it seems like a really beautiful and fascinating story. It’s another perfect project for Laika to tackle and I have no doubt that Knight will do a fantastic job bringing this story to life.