Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle director Destin Daniel Cretton is teaming up with Michael Mitnick (The Giver) and Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps to adapt Scott McCloud’s acclaimed graphic novel The Sculptor.
THR reports that the story follows David Smith, a struggling New York artist “who makes a deal with Death for the supernatural abilities to sculpt anything he wishes but at the cost of having less than a year to live. With time slowly ticking away, Smith sees that the path to success isn’t easy to navigate as he tries to find his artistic voice and learn how to handle his powers. Things then get unexpectedly more complicated when he falls in love.”
Sony originally picked up the rights to the graphic novel upon publication in 2015, but they recently reverted back to McCloud, with 21 Laps then swooping in. Warner Bros. has snapped up the package, fending off multiple bids from other interested parties; the project reteams Crettin with the studio, which is releasing the filmmaker’s next movie Just Mercy, a legal drama starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.