The Babadook director Jennifer Kent might be directing an adaptation of a book from Hellraiser creator Cliver Barker, and I really hope she is.
As we all know, when The Babadook isn’t galavanting off as a queer icon, it’s generally sitting around as quite a good horror film, and it turned 10 years old earlier this year. Director Jennifer Kent recently spoke with io9 about the film for its 10th anniversary, and the response that’s come in the decade since its release, but most interesting of all was her response when asked about what she’s working on next. “We’re about to announce something that’s going ahead,” Kent said, continuing, “a film based on a book. A very well-known horror book. But I can’t really say more than that at this point.”
While Kent wasn’t able to say anything just yet, World of Reel has now claimed that the director is currently working on an adaptation of Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always. You might not know Barker’s name if you’re not a horror fan, but he’s notable for a couple of reasons – he’s the author behind the iconic Hellraiser, and wrote and directed the film adaptation of it, and he’s also responsible for the short story that the 1992 movie Candyman is based on.
The Thief of Always also released back in 1992, and it follows a 10-year-old boy who finds himself at a magical house, but finds that the owner of it has some sinister intentions. That certainly sounds like a fitting book for Kent to adapt, given her filmography, so he’s hoping that World of Reel is right in their reporting. We’re likely still a while away from hearing anything more about the film, so maybe in the meantime your best bet is just giving The Babadook a rewatch to help celebrate its anniversary.