Pig Director Michael Sarnoski to Helm Sabrina Movie

Michael Sarnoski, who is best known for his genre-bending work on Pig, is headed into the world of graphic novel adaptations. On Thursday, it was announced that Sarnoski is set to write and direct an adaptation of Sabrina, the 2018 graphic novel from Nick Drnaso. The film will hail from New Regency and RT Features, as their latest collaboration following Ad Astra and The Lighthouse. According to reporting, Sabrina will not be Sarnoski’s next project, as he is currently expected to helm a spinoff of A Quiet Place for Paramount. A film adaptation of Sabrina has been in the works since 2019, with The Cabin in the Woods and Bad Times at El Royale director Drew Goddard attached at the time.

Sabrina follows a grieving man whose girlfriend goes missing and who goes to live with his old friend – an Air Force surveillance expert agent who is dealing with a failed marriage. After a grisly videotape is sent anonymously to news outlets, Sabrina’s disappearance goes viral. As the 24-hour news cycle and social media take hold of the story, the two men are targeted by vitriolic conspiracy theorists that threaten their sense of the truth and their faith in each other.

Sabrina was published by Drawn & Quarterly in May of 2018, and quickly became a critical darling, making year-end best-of list for the New York Times, The Guardian, NPR and The Atlantic. It was also the first graphic novel to be long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.

“I feel uncomfortable with the attention,” Drnaso told the Booker Prize website about his accolade. “I don’t know what to say about it. The publishers are happy, so I’m happy for them. I worry that including a comic book is just detracting from the other authors on the list, not to mention frustrating the people who feel it doesn’t qualify. They’re pretty different forms of art, so I totally understand. Again, I don’t know what to say. I’m happy as a cartoonist. There are a lot of good cartoonists working right now, so I don’t know why this book was singled out.”

What do you think of Michael Sarnoski being brought on to direct Sabrina? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Deadline