The Hollywood Reporter has informed us that both Darren Aronofsky and Angelina Jolie are in talks to adapt Ron Rash’s novel “Serena.” Set in 1929, the novel follows newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton as they travel through mountains in the northeast to create a timber empire. George has been fathering an illegitimate child for quite some time at this point, and when Serena learns that she cannot bear a child herself, she hatches a plan to murder the boy that George has fathered without her.
Other people attached to this project are screenwriter Chris Kyle (Alexander) and producer Nick Wechsler, who has worked previously with Aronofsky on both Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. According to THR’s report, the script needs a little more work until both Aronofsky and Jolie can commit.
Jolie will be seen next in Phillip Noyce‘s summer thriller Salt, in which she plays a CIA officer accused of being a traitorous spy. Aronofsky will also be seen soon, having just completed Black Swan, another thriller type set to star Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder.
Given the resumes of these two established professionals, is there any reason to hope that they won’t commit to this adaptation?