Maggie Gyllenhaal to adapt Creation Lake

Warner Bros. is reteaming with Maggie Gyllenhaal for a new project following last year’s Gothic romance “The Bride!”

The studio acquired Rachel Kushner’s novel “Creation Lake” for Gyllenhaal to develop, with plans to produce and direct.

“Creation Lake” centers on a secret agent, “Sadie Smith,” a thirty-four-year-old American woman sent to infiltrate an eco-activist collective in France using her skills of seduction and manipulation. But as she becomes more entangled with the commune, Sadie begins to question her own worldview. The novel — which has been described as a “propulsive page-turner filled with dark humor” as it examines identity, history and radical politics — was a New York Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and longlisted for the National Book Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award for fiction, among other laurels.

News of the project might be surprising to some, as Warner Bros. took a big swing on “The Bride!,” with Gyllenhaal delivering a 1930’s-set, feminist reimagining of the classic “Bride of Frankenstein” story that polarized critics. The ambitious film, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, failed to spark at the box office, grossing $24 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.

But one would be foolish to discount the critical success of Gyllenhaal’s 2022 directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter.” The psychological drama — which Gyllenhaal wrote and directed based on the novel by Elena Ferrante — earned three Oscar nominations, including a best adapted screenplay nod for Gyllenhaal. She had previously been nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in “Crazy Heart.” She is a Golden Globe winner for starring in “The Honorable Woman.”

News of the “Creation Lake” project comes as Gyllenhaal is set to receive the President’s Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Gyllenhaal will receive the prize at the festival’s opening ceremony, alongside fellow performer-turned-filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, and she will also present a screening of “The Bride!”

Puck first reported news of the developing project.

-Variety