One of America’s most beloved young adult novels is headed to the big screen.
Netflix is producing a film adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Variety reports.
Paulsen’s novel, published in 1987 by Bradbury Press, tells the story of Brian Robeson, a 13-year-old boy on his way to visit his father in Canada. When the pilot of the airplane carrying him dies, Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake, surviving in the woods for 54 days with the help of the hatchet his mother gave him as a gift. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the novel, which received a Newbery Honor, “a spellbinding account” and “a winner.”
Paulsen wrote four more novels featuring the character of Brian: The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt. Paulsen died in 2021, aged 82.
Hatchet was adapted into a 1990 television movie, titled A Cry in the Wild, directed by Mark Griffiths and starring Jared Rushton, Pamela Sue Martin, and Ned Beatty.
Netflix’s film adaptation will be written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines, I Know This Much Is True). Executive producers of the film include Paulsen’s widow, Ruth Wright Paulsen, and his son James Wright Paulsen.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
