Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton is teaming up with his reps at Range Media Partners to produce a feature adaptation of the LGBTQ+-themed psychological thriller HappyHead.
The novel, which will be published next week in the U.K. and is the first in a planned series, marks the debut of author Josh Silver, and it was recently at the center of a competitive auction won by Egerton and Range.
Said to be in the vein of The Hunger Games, the story follows a young man named Seb who is given a chance to attend a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness. Upon arriving, Seb finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, and as he partakes in increasingly disturbing activities, he begins to question the true nature of the retreat and whether there’s any escaping it.
Deadline broke the news, offering statements from both Silver and Egerton.
“I am beyond thrilled that Range Media Partners and Taron will be developing HappyHead for the screen. Their passion and creative vision [are] inspiring, and I can’t wait to be a part of this journey with them. They are the perfect home for it,” said Silver.
“I read Josh’s book in one sitting. It was immediately clear to me that it is something special. I could not be more excited to be a part of the team bringing this story to the screen,” added Egerton, who will be an equal partner on HappyHead with Range, but has no plans to star in the project himself.
“HappyHead has a unique combination of an ambitious, near-dystopian world with well-observed, relatable characters and it’s exactly that blend that gets us excited,” Range’s co-head of international, Oliver Riddle and Thomas Daley, said in a joint statement.
Egerton has been on a roll lately, having earned Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his performance in the Apple TV+ series Black Bird. He’ll soon be seen in Apple’s upcoming feature Tetris, which looks fantastic, and he’s also set to produce and star in the streamer’s upcoming drama series Firebug, in which he’ll play an arson investigator on the trail of two serial arsonists.
On the feature side, Egerton recently wrapped Universal’s thriller Carry On, which sees him matching wits with Jason Bateman. In addition to Range, he’s represented by United Agents.
