From the studio that brought you Coraline and The Boxtrolls, comes a new story dripping in mystery and magic. In 2024, LAIKA announced it would be doing a stop-motion adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s New York Times Bestseller, Piranesi. The film is set to be directed by the studio’s president, Travis Knight. Just this June, Dave Kajganich signed on as the project’s screenwriter.
With two very important roles already filled, it looks like LAIKA’s Piranesi will be a big one for fans of the studio and fans of Clarke’s original work.
Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi
Piranesi is only Susanna Clarke’s second novel to date. Yet, despite this, Clarke’s prose has carved out a place for itself in the literary world. Piranesi is, at its core, a book of questions. From the first page, readers fall into a mysterious new world alongside a main character who knows just as little as they do. The man named Piranesi resides in the House, a labyrinthine collection of halls. Some are filled with statues. Others are weathered by the changing tides of the oceans contained within them. Piranesi’s journal entries track his movement through the House as he documents its every corner.
He leads a solitary life but he is content with his exploration. The only other life he know of is the Other who he meets once in a while and who is intent on his own research. However, he soon meets another who throws everything he’s ever known into question. The ever-changing world Piranesi’s become accustomed to may hold even more secrets than he once anticipated.
Susanna Clarke’s narrative voice is wholly unique. Each word is crafted to both confuse and fascinate the reader. Likewise, the world she builds gives the reader just enough to build intrigue. Imagination fills in the rest, creating a beautiful mental landscape rivaling the narrator’s own. In his own words, “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.” Now, LAIKA’s mission is to capture this infinite beauty through the power of animation.
LAIKA’s Piranesi
Piranesi isn’t the first book one would tap for an adaptation. Frankly, the same aspects that make it so unique, make it a challenge for anyone aiming to take the story to the screen. Clarke’s writing elegantly describes the inner workings of the House but those descriptions can be so otherworldly, it’s hard to imagine making them real.
That being said, LAIKA has a knack for bringing the otherworldly to life. If its previous films are any indication, the studio knows how to do quirky and weird stories with beautiful visuals. That’s the beauty of stop motion animation that makes it a perfect choice, if unexpected, for Piranesi. Movies like Coraline would not have the same whimsical and unsettling atmosphere if translated to live action. Though not by LAIKA, Netflix’s The House is another great example of what stop motion can do. This three-part anthology zeroes in its own version of a mysterious house and its varying inhabitants. It blurs the line between reality and unreality in much the same way Clarke’s novel does.
The film’s director and writer should prove valuable assets in making this dream a reality. Travis Knight, director, has worked as both director and animator on many of LAIKA’s films. He served as lead animator for Coraline, The Boxtrolls, and Paranorman. On Kubo and the Two Strings, he took on directing and animating roles. Meanwhile, screenwriter Dave Kajganich is a seasoned horror writer. He’s worked on AMC’s The Terror and Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, to name a few.
With a combination of horror, fantasy, and stop-motion animation backgrounds, the resources are there. If LAIKA can tap into the core of Piranesi and apply its previously seen passion to the story, the studio may have a new classic on its hands.
Prospective Timeline
There is no confirmed date for Piranesi‘s release yet. LAIKA is currently working on two other projects as well as this one. The most prominent is another book adaptation. Wildwood takes its story from Colin Meloy’s novel of the same name. It follows a young girl and her classmate as they journey into a dark and magical forest to save her brother. The star-studded voice cast features Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Amandla Stenberg, and more. Less is known about its other project, The Night Gardener, which was announced in 2022. However, the studio described it as a “neo-noir folktale” and boasts Ozark‘s Bill Dubuque as screenwriter.
Wildwood looks like LAIKA’s first priority at the moment so Piranesi fans might still have a long time to wait before seeing it on their screens. However, one thing is certain. Susanna Clarke’s story and the studio’s animation prowess combined is sure to make LAIKA’s Piranesi a film experience unlike anything else.
