Following on from Working Title acquiring the cinematic rights to some of Enid Blyton’s most famous books last year, we now know who will be taking first crack at a script. Woman In Black 2*’s Jon Croker is adapting *The Famous Five.
Croker, who also contributed material to Paddington (probably a better thematic match than the terrors of the Woman In Black sequel, unless Working Title has some radically scary idea for the new Five), is taking on the task of bringing a series that has largely been adapted for television to cinema screens. First published back in 1942 with Five On A Treasure Island, Blyton’s time with the characters ran to 21 novels featuring the adventures of the gang, who investigate mysteries, solve crimes and go exploring in between lashings of good grub and fun times while they’re on holiday from boarding school.
Nowhere in Deadline’s report does it mention whether it’ll be treated as a period piece or whether the Five will get a contemporary make-over, but we’d figure the latter, which would present an interesting challenge in the era of smartphones and GPS. Or it could take place in the sort of modern-yet-timeless zone that Paddington used to good effect. It’s early days, with no director attached, so expect this one to stay bubbling in development for a while yet.