Hollywood
Scott McGehee and David Siegel will pen the story.
Updated : Aug 31, 2017, 03:42 PM IST
Warner Bros. is all set to make a female-centric adaptation of the iconic William Golding novel Lord of the Flies.
Scott McGehee and David Siegel will write and direct the new take on the story, which follows a group of young boarding school students that end up stranded on an island and devolve into pre-pubescent savages over the course of the novel, reports Deadline.
Harry Hook directed a 1990 version of the story, while a 1963 feature was helmed by Peter Brook.
While talking about the project, Siegel said, "We want to do a very faithful but contemporized adaptation of the book, but our idea was to do it with all girls rather than boys. It is a timeless story that is especially relevant today, with the interpersonal conflicts and bullying, and the idea of children forming a society and replicating the behaviour they saw in grownups before they were marooned."
Meanwhile, McGehee said the subject matter "is aggressively suspenseful, and taking the opportunity to tell it in a way it hasn't been told before, with girls rather than boys, is that it shifts things in a way that might help people see the story anew. It breaks away from some of the conventions, the ways we think of boys and aggression. People still talk about the movie and the book from the standpoint of pure storytelling," he stated.
Lord of the Flies is the latest addition to Hollywood's gender-bending remake streak.
Other instalments include Splash starring Channing Tatum, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at MGM and a role-swapping Overboard reboot, as well as the upcoming Ocean's 8 movie.
After the announcement, Twitter made its voice heard and pointed out that the novel is about masculine toxicity, hence making a gender-swapped version with two male writers at the helm is not a very bright idea.
An all women remake of Lord of the Flies makes no sense because... the plot of that book wouldn't happen with all women.
— roxane gay (@rgay) August 31, 2017
"Are you okay? Do you feel okay about how I just asked if you're okay? Here just eat my foot it's fine!"
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) August 31, 2017
uhm lord of the flies is about the replication of systemic masculine toxicity
— froy (@froynextdoor) August 31, 2017
every 9th grader knows this
u can read about it on sparknotes https://t.co/EQFyuSA3MV
The female-led Lord of the Flies wouldn't ever happen because women would just branch off into their own respective groups peacefully
— rachel leishman (@RachelLeishman) August 30, 2017
We're literally living an all-male "Lord of the Flies" right now, but sure, let's see two male writers describe how women would be worse.
— Charles Clymer(@cmclymer) August 31, 2017
Um, having taught Lord of the Flies a few times, and reading Golding's reasoning behind it... an all-female remake misses the point.
— joe. (@unequalized) August 30, 2017
some director: all girls lord of the flies!!
— jack @ 7 days (@nightheatre) August 31, 2017
william golding himself: pic.twitter.com/vnuzK28g20
i bet the "all-female Lord of the Flies remake" guys would get on well with the "Heathers, but the bullies are all oppressed minorities" guy
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) August 30, 2017
Hmmm... What could possibly go wrong?