Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in the film adaptation of Max Porter’s novel, Grief is the Thing With Feathers, playing a grieving widower with two sons. The screenplay, created by Dylan Southern, focuses on Cumberbatch’s character as he struggles with what’s real and what’s not after the arrival of a mysterious presence called “Crow” with feathers in his life.
Cumberbatch expressed his initial skepticism about a film adaptation of the book, but praised Dylan Southern’s version, saying, “The experience of reading Dylan Southern’s adaptation rekindled the cinematic memory of reading this most visceral tale of a family consumed by grief.” Porter also provided positive feedback on Southern’s adaptation, stating, “In ‘Crow’, he has created something wild, a cinematic monster unlike anything else.”
The film is being produced by SunnyMarch’s Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke and launched at the Cannes Market. Max Porter’s book, which has been sold to 29 different countries, has also been adapted for the stage with actor Cillian Murphy playing both the father and “Crow”.