Apple has picked up a new adaptation for its streaming service, Apple TV+: The Changeling, based on the 2017 novel by Victor LaValle. According to the company, the series will star LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Judas and the Black Messiah).
The series is a project from Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Television and Apple Studios, and will feature Kelly Marcel (Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Cruella) as screenwriter, showrunner, and executive producer, along with Melina Matsoukas (Insecure, Beyoncé’s Formation), who will serve as director and executive producer. Ellison, Sue Naegle, Patrick Chu, and Ali Krug are EPs through Annapurna. There’s no word on when production will begin or when it will debut on the platform.
A series based on the novel has been in the works for a while from Annapurna: Word broke back in 2017 that the studio had acquired the rights to the book, and was adapting it for TV. A year later, the project was headed to FX, but in between then and now, Disney acquired FX through its massive deal with 20th Century Fox. These sorts of changes often lead to shows being dumped, and it looks as though Annapurna has taken the series to Apple instead.
Here’s word from LaValle himself on the project:
Let me clear my throat…
THE CHANGELING IS COMING TO @AppleTV
Starring LaKeith Stanfield.
Directed by @melinamatsoukas
Created/Written by @MissMarcel
And with me joyfully collaborating closely throughout.
I could not be happier. This is going to be special. https://t.co/WTJPiqdVm0
— Victor LaValle (@victorlavalle) August 25, 2021
The book is an adult fairytale set in New York, following a bookseller named Apollo Kagwa who’s trying to navigate the challenges of fatherhood as a new parent. When his wife commits a horrific act and vanishes, he embarks on a journey through the city to try and make sense of it all. (You can read our review here.)
The series joins a growing number of projects that Apple has commissioned for its streaming service: A big adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation is due to begin streaming next month, as well as a science fiction series called Invasion (October 22nd), See (August 27th), Servant (2022), and others.
