Travis Knight Set to Direct Adaptation of the Fantasy Novel PIRANESI for Laika

The stop-motion animation studio Laika has picked up the rights to the bestselling fantasy novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and Laika founder Travis Knight is set to direct an animated feature adaptation.

Knight is the director behind Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee, and the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie. He’s a very talented filmmaker, and Piranesi is going to be a great project for him.

Awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021, the story for Piranesi is set in a dreamlike alternative reality, and it follows Piranesi, “whose house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others.

“Within the labyrinth of halls, an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded 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 one other person in the house, “a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge.

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

Knight shared in a statement: “Piranesi is a treasure, and very dear to me. As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being. 

“She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I’m humbled that she chose LAIKA as her home.”

Clarke said of the project: “Animation is one of my favourite things. I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies; and LAIKA has produced such extraordinary work — movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, full of beauty and wonder and weirdness. I’m thrilled that Piranesi has found a home with them and I can’t wait to see what they do.”

I’m not familiar with the book, but this sounds like a really cool and fascinating story. It’s another perfect project for Laika to take on and I have no doubt that Knight will do a fantastic job bringing this story to life.