George Clooney will direct and star in a feature film adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel Good Morning, Midnight for Netflix.
Mark L. Smith will adapt the screenplay from the sci-fi thriller, which was one of the best books of 2017.
The post-apocalyptic tale follows the parallel stories of Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, and an astronaut on board the Aether spacecraft, which is trying to return home to Earth, as Augustine races to make contact with the spaceship.
Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures’ Grant Heslov will produce alongside Anonymous Content and Syndicate Entertainment, who sourced the material.
The film, which does not yet have a title, will begin production in October.
“Having known and worked with George for over two decades, I can’t think of anyone better to bring this amazing story to life,” said Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film division. “The book is powerful and moving, and Mark’s adaptation is beautifully written. At its core, this is a story about human nature, and one that I know our global audiences will fall in love with, just like I did when I read it.”
The adaptation marks Clooney’s first feature for a streamer and first project with Netflix, though he recently executive produced, appeared in, and directed a few episodes for Hulu’s series adaptation of Catch-22.
The film also marks his directing gig since Paramount’s Suburbicon in 2017 and the first film he has starred in since 2016’s Money Monster for Sony.
