James Cameron to Co-Write Novel Adaptation ‘The Devils’

The filmmaker, who is finishing up work on the next ‘Avatar’ movie, plans to collaborate with the author on the adaptation, but hasn’t said he’ll direct.

(L to R) Director James Cameron and Jamie Lee Curtis at D23 2024. Photo: Disney.

Preview:

James Cameron is to co-write an adaptation of ‘The Devils.’
Author Joe Abercrombie will also work on the script.
It follows monsters being pressed into service to save humanity.

Even though he has been head down working on the numerous James Cameron’s on one project forever.

He’s been tinkering with other potential movies and ideas for a while, and though he’s pretty committed to only directing his sci-fi epics (‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is next on the release calendar), he has jumped into other projects in between them.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

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Now, as work on ‘Fire and Ash’ chugs through post-production, his Lightstorm Entertainment company has announced the acquisition of rights to Joe Abercrombie’s fantasy novel ‘The Devils,’ which was published last month and is already on several bestseller lists.

Cameron plans to work on a script adaptation of the book, working alongside Abercrombie. Right now, that’s his focus in of this potential movie –– we have to imagine he’ll hand directing duties on to someone else.

What’s the story of ‘The Devils’?

Cover of 'The Devils' by Joe Abercrombie. Photo: Tor Publishing.

Here’s the synopsis for ‘The Devils’:

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.

Hhhm.. a rag-tag force going up against terrifying creatures? Nope, can’t see why Cameron would be interested at all…

James Cameron talks ‘The Devils’

Director James Cameron for 'Avatar: The Way of Water.'

Cameron wrote about why he’s excited to tackle the adaptation:

“How do I describe ‘The Devils?’ A sharply witty horror adventure? An epic battle between good and evil except most of the time you can’t tell which is which? A twisted, stylish, alt-universe middle-ages romp, where your best hope of survival is the monsters themselves? The twists and turns come at a rollercoaster pace, and with Joe’s signature acerbic wit and style. But of course, Joe always teases with the flickers of redemption that make it all worthwhile –– and ultimately quite heartwrenching.”

And this is what he had to say about Abercrombie:

“I’ve loved Joe’s writing for years, cherishing each new read, throughout the epic cycle of the ‘First Law’ books, especially ‘Best Served Cold’ and the ‘Age of Madness’ trilogy. But the freshness of the world and the characters in ‘The Devils’ finally got me off my butt to buy one of his books and partner with him to bring it to the screen. I’m looking forward to the writing process with him, though I’m certain this adaptation will practically write itself because Joe writes very visually, almost in scenes, and with a very cinematic structure. I can’t wait to dig into this.”

Abercrombie, for his part, seems similarly enthused. And why not? It’s not every day one of the world’s biggest filmmakers agrees to co-adapt your book:

“James Cameron has been thrilling audiences, including me, by putting the impossible on film for over four decades. No one can balance mind-blowing action and spectacle with gut-wrenching personal stakes and story the way he does. I can’t think of anyone better to bring this weird and wonderful monster of a book to the screen.”

What else does James Cameron have percolating?

James Cameron, Academy Award nominee for Best Picture, Achievement in Directing and Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Avatar,' arrives with his wife Suzy Amis at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA, on Sunday, March 7, 2010. Credit: Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright ©A.M.P.A.S.

Naturally, this is not the only project outside of the ‘Avatar’ movies that Cameron has on the go.

Besides ‘The Devils,’ he’s also been working on a movie called Charles Pellegrino’s eponymous book that the director optioned in 2010, and his other tome, ‘Ghosts of Hiroshima.’

Cameron's film will tell the story of a Japanese man who survived the American atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, with him then boarding a train to Nagasaki and surviving the atomic bomb that was dropped there as well.

Again, however, we don’t know if Cameron plans to actually direct that one or simply oversee its development before handing it off to someone else, as he did with the long-gestating ‘Alita: Battle Angel.’

When will ‘The Devils’ be in theaters?

With the novel just optioned and work barely begun, we can’t imagine this will be on screens any time soon –– after all, the ‘Hiroshima’ project has been developing for more than a decade.

We’re always willing to be surprised by James Cameron, but for now, we can expect ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ on December 19th this year, followed by the the fifth in December 2031.