James Cameron has been making Avatar movies for so long, it’s hard to imagine him doing anything else. Believe it or not, he’s actually lining up something completely new that will be his next film after Avatar: Fire and Ash later this year. Cameron announced on Facebook that he has acquired the film rights to The Devils, the dark fantasy novel by author Joe Abercrombie.
Co-written by Cameron and Abercrombie, The Devils will center on a team of villains and monsters put together to save Europe from flesh-eating elves and the corrupt who are doing nothing to stop it.
“I’m certain this adaptation will practically write itself because Joe writes very visually, almost in scenes, and with a very cinematic structure. I can’t wait to dig into this as I wind down on Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will be a joyful new challenge for me to bring these indelible characters to life,” Cameron said.
He added, “How do I describe ‘The Devils’? A sharply witty horror adventure? An epic battle between good and evil, except most of the time you can’t tell which is which? A twisted, stylish, alt-universe middle-ages romp, where your best hope of survival is the monsters themselves? This is Joe Abercrombie in absolute peak form, opening up a whole new world and an ensemble of delicious new characters. The twists and turns come at a rollercoaster pace, and with Joe’s signature acerbic wit and style.”
Kinda sounds Hellboy-ish, which could be really cool coming from Cameron and the visual effects technology he’ll employ. Cameron is also developing the WWII film Ghosts of Hiroshima. Whether it or The Devils disrupts plans for Avatars 4 & 5 remains to be seen. Avatar 4 is set to open in December 2029, with Avatar 5 in 2031.
This isn’t the only Abercrombie adaptation in the works, either. A couple of years ago, we learned that Rebecca Ferguson was attached to Tim Miller’s (Deadpool) adaptation of Best Served Cold, based on the fourth book in Abercrombie’s The First Law series. Abercrombie’s work was also a part of Miller’s Love, Death + Robots series at Netflix.
