Edgar Wright Set To Direct a Crazy Kidnapping Thriller Titled THE CHAIN
Universal Pictures has picked up the right to the 2019 novel The Chain written by Adrian McKinty and they will be adapting it for the big screen. Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Hot Fuzz) has signed on direct it from a script being written by Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Golden Circle and X-Men: First Class).
This book actually tells a pretty insane and jacked up kidnapping story. It centers around a woman named Rachel, who learns that her 11-year-old daughter has been kidnapped. “The only way to get her back is to kidnap another child. Her daughter will be released only when that next victim’s parents kidnap another child. If Rachel doesn’t kidnap another child, or if that child’s parents don’t kidnap a child, her daughter will be murdered. She is now part of The Chain, a terrifying and meticulous chain letter-like kidnapping scheme that turns parents from victims into criminals.”
The story follows Rachel’s “harrowing story as victim, survivor, abductor and criminal. What the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. But what they don’t know is that in Rachel they have finally met their match, as she is smart and tough enough to have survived a bout with cancer and is determined to break The Chain while getting her daughter back.”
This is one hell of an interesting story and as a fan of Wright’s work, I’m curious to see how he brings this dark and crazy story to life. This is a very different kind of film than we’re used to seeing him make. Although, right now he’s working on a horror movie titled Last Night in Soho.
The author of the novel was struggling with his career as a writer before this deal came along. He was contemplating quitting because he wasn’t able to support his family as a writer. But he stuck with it and while making extra cash as an Uber driver, he wrote The Chain and everything fell into place and worked out for him.
He told Deadline, “My story is a story of never giving up. It’s a story about writers helping fellow writers. I hope it inspires other writers who may be thinking about quitting, to never give up. I never imagined any of this could happen, but I hoped it would. I had hope. I am so grateful and I hope my story inspires others.”
I love success stories like this and I looking forward to seeing his story play out on the big screen!