Robert Zemeckis is attached to direct the big screen adaptation of Kat Falls’ underwater adventure novel “Dark Life.” Walt Disney Pictures and Zemeckis’ ImageMovers have signed a deal to partner with the Gotham Group (The Spiderwick Chronicles) to bring the book to the big screen.
The book will by published in May by Scholastic. The following is how it’s described:
Set in an apocalyptic future where rising oceans have swallowed up entire regions and people live packed like sardines on the dry land left, “Dark Life” is the harrowing tale of underwater pioneers who have carved out a life for themselves in the harsh deep-sea environment, farming the seafloor in exchange for the land deed.
The story follows Ty, who has lived his whole life on his family’s homestead and has dreams of claiming his own stake when he turns eighteen. But when outlaws’ attacks on government supply ships and settlements threaten to destroy the underwater territory, Ty finds himself in a fight to stop the outlaws and save the only home he has ever known.
Joined by a girl from the Topside who has come subsea to look for her prospector brother, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld and begins to discover some dark secrets to Dark Life.
As Ty gets closer to the truth, he discovers that the outlaws may not be the bloodthirsty criminals the government has portrayed them as. And that the government abandoning the territory might be the best thing for everyone, especially for someone like Ty, someone with a Dark Gift.
Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey will produce through ImageMovers. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman will produce through Gotham.
It has not been determined yet if the movie will be produced using Zemeckis’ performance capture process.
