The Wolverine (2013), Logan (2017) and Ford v Ferrari (2019) Academy Award Nominated Director James Mangold may direct a book adaptation after the completion of the fifth installment of Disney’s Indiana Jones.  Being a writer himself, it comes as no surprise that two of Manigold’s under-development projects are both based on books.

Crenshaw written by screenwriters Frederick Seton and Helen Childress is based on a children’s book from Newbery medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author Katherine Alice Applegate best known for The One and Only Ivan, Animorphs, Remnants and Everworld. Crenshaw is a heart-warming tale of an unlikely bond between a boy and his imaginary friend – a giant cat named Crenshaw. It touches upon the theme of homelessness, friendship, forgiveness and acceptance.

While Crenshaw is set to be produced by Kickstart Productions (Wanted), the screen adaptation of Applegate’s other award-winning novel The One and Only Ivan was produced by Angelina Jolie, Allison Shearmur and Brigham Taylor. The film was initially planned for a global distribution but its theatrical release got cancelled due to the impact of COVID19 pandemic and it was exclusively released on Disney+ on August 21, 2020.

The other book adaptation in Mangold’s kitty is Paramount Picture’s Juliet a project in the making for over a decade now. In 2009, Universal pictures signed Mangold to direct the screen adaptation of Danish Author Anne Fortier’s bestselling novel Juliet.

Set in Siena, Juliet is the story of a modern-day woman who discovers she is the descendant of the real Juliet from the ill-fated classic Romeo and Juliet, and that the curse from the story – “A plague on both your houses!” may just be real and coming after her – unless she finds her own Romeo and corrects the past mistakes. While being developed by an array of International Screenwriters Eyal Podell, Jonathon E. Stewart, Aryan Saha, Chad and Dara Creasey, Paramount finally acquired the production rights from Universal Pictures. 

Mangold has always been known for the range and variety in his filmography and by the looks of his upcoming projects, fans of the Logan Director are in for a special treat. Currently Mangold is busy completing the fifth installment of Indiana Jones in Glasgow, Scotland.

Antonio Banderas is the latest to join the ensemble cast of the Steven Spielberg production already consisting of Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renee Wilson and Toby Jones. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanue, the action-adventure is all set for a 2022 worldwide release.