garfield foy

Source: Maarten De Boer / Juankr

Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy

Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy will lead the adaptation of Enid Blyton’s children’s book The Magic Faraway Tree, with principal photography to begin in June.

The film is produced by Pippa Harris for Neal Street Productions, with Danny Perkins of Elysian Film Group and Jane Hooks. Executive producers are Ashland Hill Media Finance’s Simon Williams, Joe Simpson and Jonathan Bross, and Palisade Park Pictures’ Tamara Birkemoe.

Ben Gregor is directing from a script by Wonka and Paddington 2 writer Simon Farnaby. The Magic Faraway Tree is based on Blyton’s The Faraway Tree novel series. It follows a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside, where they discover a magical tree full of extraordinary and eccentric residents. Garfield and Foy will play the parents, with additional casting underway.

Ashland Hill Media Finance is fully financing the film, with Palisades Park Pictures handling worldwide sales and CAA Media Finance co-representing US rights.

The film has been in development for several years, with Perkins, Harris and Brown working on it when the former was head of Studiocanal UK.

Garfield and Foy were previously named Screen Stars of Tomorrow in 2007 and 2008 respectively. They starred together in Andy Serkis’ 2017 romance Breathe.