EXCLUSIVE 〉Coyne is also adapting the Gina Carano vehicle Avengelyne.
Screenwriter James Coyne is taking a pass at the big budget action-adventure adaptation of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s TREASURE ISLANDfrom Warner Brothers. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’sGuy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram are producing under their first-look deal, with Jon Berg and Nik Mavinkurve overseeing for the studio.
An update of Stevenson’s classic tale, the film tells the story of Jim Hawkins, a lad who goes out treasure hunting with his old friend Doc Livesely and Captain Smollett. What Jim and his friends don’t know yet, however, is that the ship’s colorful one-legged cook, Silver, is actually a pirate–as are the rest of the crew. The wily Silver waits for his opportunity to get the drop on the good guys and abscond with their treasure, but when his own men turn against him, Silver must team up with Jim if he hopes to survive.
The script has undergone multiple drafts since Ritchie’s attachment in 2012, with the original script coming from Argo Oscar-winner Chris Terrio and a previous draft submitted by Lara Croft: Tomb Raider scribes John Zinman and Patrick Massett. Coyne, who made waves after he scripted the 2013 adventure fantasy Vikingdom, is currently at work adapting Rob Liefeld’s graphic novel Avengalyne for Gina Carano and Scott Karp.
With Coyne’s draft of Treasure Island in the mix, the studio is that much closer to selecting a captain to steer this ship, aiming their spyglass at a big event filmmaker who can guarantee that it makes a splash at the box office.