Deadline is exclusively reporting that director Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion) is set to direct an adaptation of the George Saunders short story Escape from Spiderhead for Netflix, with Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on screenwriting duties.
Spiderhead takes place in a near-future where convicts are offered the opportunity to reduce their sentences by serving as medical test subjects. However, when one prisoner finds himself the test patient for a new drug capable of generating feelings of love, he begins questioning the reality of his emotions and sets out to discover the truth.
Kosinski will start work on the project once he completes the Tom Cruise sequel Top Gun: Maverick, and casting is expected to get underway shortly. Reese and Wernick will produce the film alongside Eric Newman (Bright), along with Jeremy Steckler of Conde Nast Entertainment.
Originally published February 4, 2019. Updated February 3, 2019.
