Dan Mazer to conjure an adaptation of Vera Brosgol’s Anya’s Ghost to film

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

We've got great news for all of you comic book and graphic novel fans out there! Dan Mazer (DA ALI G SHOW, DIRTY GRANDPA) has signed on to direct an adaptation of Vera Brosgol's Eisner and Harvey Award-winning graphic novel ANYA'S GHOST! Producing the film will  be Bold Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt, Bullitt Entertainment’s Benedict Carver and eOne. Patrick Ness (A MONSTER CALLS) will pen a script based off of Brosgol's work. ANYA'S GHOST was published in 2011 by Macmillan imprint Square Fish and has been the recipient of several awards and nominations for its excellence.

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. After all, falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her Russian immigrant family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs.

In talking about his excitement to work with Mazer on the new project, Jeremy Bolt stated, “Patrick is so passionate about the source material, and his screenplay is fresh and distinctive. We love Dan’s vision to make a classic high school comedy with a supernatural twist.”

Oh wow! You should have seen the way my eyes lit up when I saw this news. I read ANYA'S GHOST back when it was first published and positively adored it. Brosgol has a distinct writing voice that allows for her characters to be whip-smart and her worlds atmospheric and lush with personality. I think it will be interesting to see how the material translates over to a ghostly high school comedy.

No dates have been announced in regard to the release of ANYA'S GHOST. In the meantime, I'd highly recommend reading the graphic novel. It's kid-friendly, yet still spooky. Think CORALINE meets PARANORMAN.