Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy have become such close friends and collaborators that the actor has a tattoo in honor of his screenwriting buddy, and they’ve parlayed that relationship into crafting a billion-dollar superhero franchise.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is already closing in on $200 million despite the fact it doesn’t hit many major international markets until this coming Friday, and the duo is already brainstorming ideas for a third installment. Marcel isn’t all about CGI spectacle, though, having previously penned Bronson, Saving Mr. Banks, 50 Shades of Grey, and received a story credit on Cruella.
As per Deadline, Marcel’s next project will see her make her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Claire McFall’s literary trilogy Ferryman. Enola Holmes‘ Louis Partridge has signed on to play the lead role, in what sounds like a heady mix of romance, action, adventure and epic fantasy.
The story follows Tristan, a mysterious being who leads the souls of the dead through limbo and into the afterlife. After a train crash in the Scottish Highlands, he meets a young woman named Dylan, who struggles to accept her fate as the darkness closes in. There’s obviously some romantic tension to overcome as well, in a film that could hit that sweet spot between YA and mythological escapism that a lot of titles have aimed for, but failed to hit.
