Edward Berger, whose papal thriller Conclave won best film at the Baftas and was nominated for eight Oscars, has signed on to direct Brad Pitt in a big-screen version of Tim Winton’s novel The Riders.
The film will be financed by US studio A24, produced by Ridley Scott and written by David Kajganich, a frequent collaborator of Luca Guadagnino.
Published in 1994, The Riders is the story of an Australian man who awaits his wife and seven-year-old daughter at Shannon airport after a planned family move to Ireland. But only his daughter arrives, traumatised and unable to disclose what has happened to her mother.
Father and daughter then travel around Europe retracing the steps of their previous travel in an attempt to find the missing woman. The novel is set in December 1987, with key moments referencing real-life news events, including the resignation of the longest-serving premier of Queensland and the Queen Street massacre a week later, in which nine people died.
A film version of the book has been in the works for 25 years, with assorted cast members linked to various projects including Sam Worthington, Timothy Spall, Charles Dance, Ronan Keating, Mark Strong and Richard E Grant.
Pitt will next be seen in Top Gun Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s racing car film F1.
