East of Eden Adaptation (Netflix): Everything We Know About The Stunning Series

While a modern East of Eden adaptation has been tried and lost to development hell before, this project has intriguing names attached and Netflix winning a bidding war for a project they couldn’t lose a chance at. Florence Pugh has built up a status to simply have her name make a project must-watch. Combined with a writer and executive producer who’s grandfather directed the very first adaptation in the 1950’s and you get a unique combination of a classic novel in an adaptation driven by women.
 
This page was updated: 8/9/22
 

About The Book:

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families–the Trasks and the Hamiltons — whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
Adam Trask came to California from the East to farm and raise his family on the new, rich land. But the birth of his twins, Cal and Aron, brings his wife to the brink of madness, and Adam is left alone to raise his boys to manhood. One boy thrives, nurtured by the love of all those around him; the other grows up in loneliness, enveloped by a mysterious darkness.
East of Eden is the work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love’s absence. A masterpiece of Steinbeck’s later years, East of Eden is a powerful and vastly ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis.
 
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Current Production Status:

As of Summer 2022 the project is in early development.
 

East of Eden Adaptation Timeline:

The book was first published in 1952. It was adapted into a film in 1955 and a miniseries in 1981.
In 2004 Ron Howard was rumored to be attached to an East of Eden adaptation, but at the same time Universal was also working on a separate film adaptation. In 2009 a director and screenwriter for the Universal adaptation was announced. After a few years of no progress in 2013 Gary Ross and Jennifer Lawrence were announced to be attached with the book split into two movies. That project was folded and there has been no news from Universal since.
In June 2022 Netflix announced that they had won a bidding war for a miniseries version with Zoe Kazan and Florence Pugh attached.
 

Who Owns The Rights:

Netflix has production and distribution rights. Anonymous Content and Endeavor Content are also co-producers.
 

Who Is Attached:

Florence Pugh is attached to star and co-produce. Zoe Kazan is writing and executive producing.
 

Filming Locations:

The series is still in early development which means there are no filming locations.
 

Estimated Release:

The series is still in early development which means there is no estimated release.
 

Previous mentions on AiLL:

n/a
 

Other Adaptations From This Author:

There have not been too many recent adaptations, but Steinbeck’s books were regularly brought to screen in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
James Franco directed and starred in an ‘In Dubious Battle’ adaptation in 2016.
‘Of Mice and Men’ was adapted into a film in 1992 with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.
 

Happy Reading!!
~Alison

East of Eden Adaptation: Everything We Know So Far

 
Hi there! I’m Alison in Libraryland, and I’ll be here for all your book related needs. Many of you know me as the girl with the book recommendations. Don’t be shy! Ask me! If you’re looking for a good book or movie adaptation, let me help you find it. I’ll be here for all your literary needs. This is a book blog run on an obsession for shiny new books, worn-through old classics, and all attempts at moving those stories to the screen, just like this East of Eden adaptation!