According to The InSneider, Golden Globe nominee Jenna Ortega is reportedly in negotiations for the leading role in the film adaptation of Klara and the Sun. Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s bestselling novel of the same name, the project hails from Sony-owned label 3000 Pictures.
Ortega’s potential casting comes after the 21-year-old actress recently exited Scream VII due to scheduling conflicts. She’s currently preparing for the impending production start of Wednesday Season 2 in Ireland and will next be seen in Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice 2 movie, which has just wrapped its filming.
The Klara and the Sun adaptation will be directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay written by Dahvi Waller. The Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker has been attached to the project since May 2023. The story centers around a solar-powered robot girl created to keep sick children from being lonely.
Executive producers are Ishiguro, Jeffrey Clifford, and Rosie Alison, with David Heyman, Waititi, and Garett Basch producing. Elizabeth Gabler has been enlisted by 3000 Pictures to oversee the project in behalf of the studio.
The official book synopsis reads: “Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?”
