A film adaptation of the popular Eloise series of children’s books is in the works, with director Amy Sherman-Palladino and actor Ryan Reynolds attached, Deadline reports.
The Eloise series, written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight, kicked off in 1955 with Eloise, which told the story of a girl who lives in New York’s Plaza Hotel with her nanny and her two pets, a pug and a turtle. Four more books followed, most recently Eloise Takes a Bawth, which was published in 2002, four years after Thompson’s death.
The books formed the basis for two television movies, Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime, both released in 2003. Three years later, an animated series, Eloise, aired for one season on the Starz Kids & Family network.
Sherman-Palladino, creator of the series Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, will direct the movie, which she co-wrote with Hannah Marks (Mark, Mary & Some Other People) and Linda Woolverton (Maleficent).
Reynolds (Deadpool) will play the film’s villain, with newcomer Mae Schenk taking on the title role. Reynolds and Woolverton will be among the film’s producers. Netflix will be the distributor.
Marks shared news of the adaptation on Instagram, writing, “I loved writing this movie over the last two years. Long live The Plaza. I can’t wait to see how Amy Sherman-Palladino & Ryan Reynolds bring it to life.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
