In the Garden of Beasts (Joe Wright)

[Cremildo]

The Darkest Hour director Joe Wright is in final talks to helm an adaptation of Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts for StudioCanal and Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Larson’s nonfiction best-seller was earlier optioned for Hanks and Gary Goetzman to produce via the duo’s Playtone banner. Hanks has been eyeing the project as a possible starring vehicle, though there's no word yet on a role.

The book tells the true tale of William Dodd, the United States' reluctant and mild-mannered ambassador to Berlin in 1933, and his daughter Martha, a vivacious socialite who had romantic affairs with a Gestapo official and a Soviet spy. Dodd and his family at first naively navigated life in Nazi Germany (Dodd’s daughter was excited when Adolf Hitler kissed her hand) but they slowly gained awareness of the mounting brutality around them. [Source]