‘Chernobyl’ Director Johan Renck in Talks to Helm ‘The Magus’ for ‘1917’ Producer Neal Street (EXCLUSIVE)

By Leo Barraclough

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Emmy-winning “Chernobyl” director Johan Renck is in talks to direct “The Magus,” an adaptation of John Fowles’ famously cryptic cult novel. The TV miniseries is being produced by “1917” production house Neal Street Productions, headed by producer Pippa Harris and filmmaker Sam Mendes.

The news leaked in a suitably mysterious way Thursday when Renck posted a picture of the novel’s cover alongside the words, “Something is brewing.”

Harris confirmed to Variety that Neal Street is in talks with Renck to direct the miniseries, and added she “couldn’t think of anyone better to shepherd John Fowles’ extraordinary book to the screen.”

The writer is Tom Edge, who wrote the screenplay for the film “Judy,” for which Renée Zellweger won an Oscar. Edge also worked on several episodes of “The Crown,” notably “Paterfamilias,” for which Stephen Daldry won the Emmy for directing.

“The Magus,” published in 1966, is set on a Greek island, where Englishman Nicholas Urfe, a young schoolteacher, finds himself embroiled in the mindgames of the island’s enigmatic owner. The book was previously adapted by Fowles himself in the late 1960s as a movie, starring Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine and Candice Bergen.

Neal Street’s output includes the TV shows “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” “Call the Midwife” and “Britannia,” and the play “The Lehman Trilogy.”