Three-time Oscar nominee writer John Logan will adapt Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian into a feature film for director John Hillcoat, Variety reported. Hillcoat is also producing along with Keith Redmon for New Regency. The author's son, John Francis McCarthy, will serve as executive producer, while Cormac McCarthy, who died in June 2023, is getting a posthumous executive producer credit.
"It's incredibly exciting to have John Logan on board," John Francis McCarthy said. "Very reassuring in the seemingly long list of good news concerning what was originally such an intimidating undertaking."
The project was originally set up with director James Franco and star Russell Crowe in 2016, but fell apart over rights to the book.
Logan's writing credits include Ridley Scott's Gladiator, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, and Sam Mendes's James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre. He earned a Tony award for his play Red in 2010.
"Blood Meridian has been one of my favorite novels since first reading it in 1985," Logan said. "It's a majestic, beautiful and uncompromising book and I'm thrilled to be able to help bring Cormac McCarthy's dark masterpiece to the screen."
Hillcoat added: "After years of dreaming and scheming about adapting this great work into a movie, after years of discussing adaptation ideas with Cormac, we are excited to have the writer John Logan weigh in with his passion and understanding of Cormac's sensibility, to help bring Blood Meridian the movie to fruition."