Andy Serkis to adapt George Orwell classic Animal Farm for Netflix

Director: Andy Serkis will adapt Animal Farm for Netflix
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Natasha Sporn2 August 2018

Andy Serkis is set to direct a performance-capture adaptation of George Orwell classic Animal Farm for Netflix.

Serkis will reunite with Matt Reeves, having worked together on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes.

According to Deadline, the adaptation has been described as “[being] in a thoroughly contemporary fashion, which will highlight the staggering relevance today of the satirical and dramatic power of Orwell’s re-imagined classic.”

Serkis said in a statement, seen by the publication: “We are incredibly excited to have finally found the perfect creative home in Netflix for this extraordinarily zeitgeist work by George Orwell.

Reunited: Andy Serkis will work with Matt Reeves
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

“On top of that, to be re-united with my great friend Matt Reeves — with his acute sensitivity, storytelling intelligence and honesty and command in this realm — is to have the very best scenario for our long-held passion to bring this fable alive.”

It is thought that Serkis first became keen on an adaptation back in 2012 when his company Imaginarium first made a deal with the George Orwell Estate.

The classic 1945 novel - and allegory of Stalinist Russia - featured a group of animals who rebelled against humans to take over the farm and establish their independence.

They create their own environment and world but there is a hierarchy, with Napoleon – a pig – slowly eliminating his rivals and introducing his own commandments.

The news comes just days after Netflix acquired Serkis’ directorial debut Mowgli, adapted from The Jungle Book.

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