Blood Meridian: John Logan is adapting Cormac McCarthy’s violent Western for director John Hillcoat

Considered by many to be the magnum opus of author Cormac McCarthy – whose works include No Country for Old Men, The Road, All the Pretty Horses, and Child of God, among others – the violent Western Blood Meridian (you can pick up a copy HERE) was published in 1985… and in the years since, several filmmakers have made unsuccessful attempts to bring the story to the screen. Adaptations have passed through the hands of Tommy Lee Jones, Ridley Scott, and James Franco, with Franco getting the furthest with it, shooting 25 minutes of test footage before the producer shut down the project. With unrelenting violence and a dark tone, Blood Meridian has been said to be unfilmable. But director John Hillcoat, who previously helmed the feature based on The Road (pictured below), is pushing an adaptation forward at New Regency, and Deadline reports that John Logan, who received Oscar nominations for his work on the scripts for Hugo, The Aviator, and Gladiator, is writing the screenplay.

Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, Blood Meridian traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.

Hillcoat is producing the film with Keith Redmon for New Regency. McCarthy’s son, John Francis McCarthy, serves as executive producer, and Cormac McCarthy, who passed away last year, will receive a posthumous executive producer credit.

Logan provided the following statement: “Blood Meridian has been one of my favorite novels since first reading it in 1985. It’s a majestic, beautiful and uncompromising book and I’m thrilled to be able to help bring Cormac McCarthy’s dark masterpiece to the screen.“

New Regency’s Yariv Milchan and Natalie Lehmann added: “Blood Meridian is one of the most revered novels in American literature, from one of the greatest writers. We knew we needed a very special talent to be able to adapt this seminal book and John Logan was our first choice. His prolific talent and remarkable track record consistently
demonstrate his ability to transform cherished stories and texts into cinematic accomplishments.“

Hillcoat had this to say: “After years of dreaming and scheming about adapting this great work into a movie, after years of discussing adaptation ideas with Cormac, we are excited to have the writer John Logan weigh in with his passion and understanding of Cormac’s sensibility, to help bring Blood Meridian the movie to fruition.“

And John Francis McCarthy said, “It’s incredibly exciting to have John Logan on board. Very reassuring in the seemingly long list of good news concerning what was originally such an intimidating undertaking.“

When asked if Blood Meridian was unfilmable, Cormac McCarthy told The Wall Street Journal that it would be “very difficult to do and would require someone with a bountiful imagination and a lot of balls. But the payoff could be extraordinary.” It looks like we’re finally going to get the movie with John Hillcoat directing from a screenplay by John Logan, so here’s hoping that the payoff will indeed be extraordinary.

Are you a fan of the works of Cormac McCarthy, and are you looking forward to seeing a movie based on Blood Meridian? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.