A press release from the official Roald Dahl website states that Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The BFG will hit theaters on July 1, 2016. The film will be produced by DreamWorks and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film has yet to be cast.
The BFG features a girl named Sophie – reportedly based on Dahl’s own granddaughter – who leads a crusade against all of the evil giants who plague humanity. Along the way, she meets the eponymous BFG, or “Big Friendly Giant,” who introduces himself as the only good giant in the world.
According to the story, The BFG is in charge of delivering dreams to young kids and speaks with an almost Seussian vocabulary. All told, it should make for a compelling adventure that taps into many of our childhood wishes, fears, and fantasies.
Dahl’s award-winning book was once turned into a film for ITV back in 1989. Directed by Brian Cosgrove, the 2D animated film starred David Jason as the giant and Amanda Root as Sophie. The trailer for film can be found below:
Melissa Mathison will be penning the script for Spielberg’s adaptation. Mathison is perhaps most well-known for writing Spielberg’s seminal classic, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Outside of a segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie, this marks their first time working together on a feature-length project since that film.
Like Spielberg. Mathison has already proven herself to be adept at telling stories about children with The Black Stallion, Ponyo, and the aforementioned E.T. But for the first time, she will have an opportunity to work with a young female protagonist in Sophie as she navigates a treacherous and exciting fantasy world. In theory, her pairing with Spielberg should be a match made in heaven.
Who would you most like to see play Sophie and the BFG? Do you think another film adaptation of the book could work? Let us know in the comments below!
~ Søren
