There have been no shortage of Westerns lately, as the genre seems to have gotten a resurgence in recent years. Now,Deadlinereports that New Regency is slated to adapt the WesternBlood Meridianinto a feature film. The project will bedirected byJohn Hillcoatand based on the iconic book of the same name byCormac McCarthy.
Significant details on the film remain slim, with no cast having been announced yet. However, McCarthy’s novel, first published in 1985 asBlood Meridian or, the Evening Redness in the West,is set in the American west and follows a fictional Tennessee 14-year-old known as the Kid. Based on semi-historical events, the book tracks the Kid’s life as he gets intertwined into the westward American expansion of the mid-1850s, and stumbles onto a gang of rangers on the U.S.-Mexican border that kill and scalp Native Americans. The extremely violent book wasn’t initially received well. However, it has gone onto garner massive acclaim since its publication, and is often considered one of the greatest-ever novels by a U.S. author, with some dubbing it the perfect example of the Great American Novel.
While casting remains under wraps, Deadline reported that Hillcoat will also produce the film through New Regency, alongsideKeith Redmonfor the Black Bear Pictures banner. McCarthy will serve as an executive producer alongside his sonJohn Francis McCarthy.This will be Hillcoat’s second time directing an adaptation of a McCarthy novel, as he helmed the post-apocalyptic filmThe Roadin 2009. While a distributor was not announced, New Regency’s sales are all handled through 20th Century Studios sinceDisney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox.
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While McCarthy’s novels have often been adapted into award-winning films, such as the Academy Award-winningNo Country for Old Menin 2007,Blood Meridianhas languished in development hell for years. Attempts to put the film on screen first began in the 1990s, withTommy Lee Jonesacquiring the rights at one point in an adaptation that never moved forward. Attempts byRidley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Todd Field,andJames Francoto direct adaptations of the film in the mid 2010salso fizzled out.
An adaptation ofBlood Meridianhas often been considered “unfilmable” simply due to the novel’s extreme and often gratutious violence, along with its ambitious and large scale. Collider’sMatthew Moselypreviously noted thatBlood Meridian"is widely regarded as one of the most graphic novels ever written, featuring an unflinching depiction of the American Frontier that will turn away casual readers in a matter of pages…The violence is so all-encompassing that itbecomesthe story, preventing the easy fix of sanding down its brutal edges to keep things in the realm of financially viable."
However, with news of New Regency’s adaptation coming to light, this may be the greatest indication yet that a feature-length version ofBlood Meridianmay finally see the silver screen. A Collider interview with Hillcoat can be seen below:
