‘In the Fade’ Director to Take on Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’ for Universal, Blumhouse (EXCLUSIVE)

By Justin Kroll

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Fatih Akin will direct Universal Pictures, Akiva Goldsman, and Blumhouse Productions’ adaptation of Stephen King’s classic sci-fi thriller novel “Firestarter.”

Scott Teems will adapt the script.

Based on King’s classic novel, the story follows a young girl who develops pyrokinetic abilities and is abducted by a secret government agency that wants to harness her powerful gift as a weapon.

Goldsman will produce along with Jason Blum of Blumhouse. Blum most recently produced the hit “Split” from M. Night Shyamalan and Oscar winner “Get Out” from Jordan Peele. Martha de Laurentiis, who was an associate producer on the 1984 adaptation of “Firestarter” starring a young Drew Barrymore, will executive produce.

VP of production Sara Scott will oversee production for Universal.

This will mark the third time Goldsman and Blum have worked together following the “Paranormal Activity” franchise and “Stephanie.”

After the success of New Line’s “It,” every studio with any sort of King IP has fast-tracked each property into pre-production. The sequel to “It” is about to get underway, Paramount’s “Pet Sematary” is currently in production, and Warner Bros. recently tapped Ewan McGregor to play adult Danny Torrance in the “Shining” sequel “Doctor Sleep,” also starring Rebecca Ferguson.

Universal had been developing “Firestarter” for awhile, and, like other studios, felt it was the time to push out its own King pic. It saw “Firestarter” as the best property that was ready to go.

Akin broke out with “In the Fade,” which took home the Golden Globe for best foreign film. He had previously won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for “Head On.”

He is repped by UTA.