Robert Zemeckis in Talks for CHAOS WALKING

Filmmaker eyes Charlie Kaufman-penned young-adult adaptation.

TheWrap is reporting that ‘Flight’ helmer Robert Zemeckis has entered into talks with Lionsgate to step behind the camera to direct the studio’s feature adaptation of the Patrick Ness young-adult sci-fi novel ‘Chaos Walking.’ The book, the first in a trilogy, is officially described as follows:

“Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.”

As previously reported, Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is on board to provide the script. Doug Davison (‘Oldboy’) will produce the adaptation via his Quadrant Pictures shingle along with Allison Shearmur (‘Cinderella’).