Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer is to adapt the Inception-like sci-fi novel Dissolution as a movie for Sony. More within:
Eric Heisserer, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 sci-fi drama Arrival, is to adapt another intelligent-sounding genre piece. Dissolution is an upcoming novel by Nicholas Binge, due to be published in 2025, and has a premise that vaguely recalls Christopher Nolan’s Inception with its mind-diving tech thriller elements.
Heisserer is to rework the novel as a feature film, having signed a deal with Sony Pictures via his own company, Chronology, according to Deadline's report.
Dissolution is due for publication by Penguin Random House next year, and has a premise that sounds like Philip K Dick without all the resentment and divorce.
Here’s a somewhat lengthy synopsis for your reading pleasure:
Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life.
When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.
Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his memories in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last. But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.
Read more: Denis Villeneuve is right: cinema is driven by the power of images, not dialogue
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Heisserer’s work on Arrival, which successfully expanded Ted Chiang’s brief, whip-smart Story Of Your Life into a feature, suggests he’s the ideal fit for a sci-fi piece with an emotional edge to it.
“I’m so proud and excited for this opportunity to work with Sony,” Heisserer said in a statement. “This business has always been challenging, but there’s also been an exodus of minds on the studio side who embrace and cultivate the role of a writer-producer. This is a home where I can put my worldbuilding development experience to practical use, and on the biggest screen possible.”
There’s no word on directors or things of that ilk at this stage – let the poor chap write the screenplay first – but we’ll bring you more on Dissolution as we hear it.
