HBO Max is joining forces with Emma Stone’s Fruit Tree and A24 to develop a series based on Stacy Willingham’s upcoming novel A Flicker in the Dark. According to Variety, the story follows Chloe Davis, who was shocked to discover at 12 years old that her father confessed to the murder of six teenage girls in their small Louisiana town. 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge whose life begins to unravel when local teens start to go missing.
Willingham’s novel will hit book store shelves in the U.S. in January 2022. Adapting the book into a series is Morgan Gould with A24 and Fruit Tree producing. Co-founded by Stone and Dave McCary and launched in August 2020, Fruit Tree has a two-year first-look TV deal at A24. As a part of the deal, Stone will star in and executive produce the Showtime comedy The Curse. The half-hour series comes from Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. Both will also star in the show alongside Stone, which is said to explore how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show. Fielder will direct and executive produce in addition to having a starring role and co-creating the series.
Stone is currently filming Poor Things for Yorgos Lanthimos. Said to be a science-fiction romance, the film will be a Victorian tale of love, discovery, and scientific daring. Poor Things tells the incredible story of Belle Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by an eccentric but brilliant scientist. Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo also star as Dr. Godwin Baxter and Duncan Wedderbrun, respectively.
Stone is also slated to star in Cruella 2 for Walt Disney Studios. The sequel finds Stone reprising her role from the live-action original, which tells the outstanding origin story of the classic Disney villain Cruella de Vil. Released in theaters and on Disney+ via Premier Access, Cruella earned over $233 million at the worldwide box office.
Something tells me that we can expect great things to grow from Fruit Tree and their first-look deal with A24. Make sure you stay close for more updates about A Flicker in the Dark as they come to light.