Talks are underway for Taika Waititi to potentially direct the film. Everett will be responsible for writing the screenplay and serving as an executive producer. "James," which was published by Doubleday in March to high praise, offers a fresh perspective on the classic tale of Huckleberry Finn. The story is told from the view of Jim, an enslaved man who embarks on a journey down the Mississippi River alongside the young Finn, a close companion of Tom Sawyer.
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Here is the goodreads synopsis of James by Percival Everett:
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.
Source: Variety