If Jack Thorne was considered hot property before Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, penning the adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful story has only ensured Thorne is one of the most in-demand writers on the other side of the pond. Soon after breaking onto the scene with British teen drama Skins, the screenwriter enjoyed a streak that comprised award-winning contributions to This Is England ’88, The Fades, Don’t Take My Baby and This Is England ’90.
Imagine our excitement, then, now that Deadline has relayed news that Jack Thorne was inked a deal to collaborate with War & Peace helmer Tom Harper for The Aeronauts, a true-life period drama said to revolve around two enthused hot air balloonists who scaled higher than anyone else in the 19th century. Both Thorne and Harper are currently in possession of a spec script, meaning this project won’t be ready to fire up production anytime soon. The search for producers, meanwhile, is currently underway.
Marking the third collaboration between Thorne and Harper – following The Scouting Book for Boys and War Book – news that both have signed on for The Aeronauts is exciting in and of itself. Third time’s a charm, right? Tom Harper’s credits also include episodes of Peaky Blinders and horror sequel The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death for Hammer. As for Thorne, earlier in the year we caught wind that the award-winning scribe had agreed to terms to work on an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
