The Monster of Florence Adaptation: Everything We Know So Far About The New Series

The combination of true crime and a big names wanting the lead role, this The Monster of Florence adaptation, based on the book by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, should be a good one if it can ever get itself out of development hell and onto our screens.
 
Don’t forget to check out the masterlist of all the EWKSF adaptation posts here on Alison in Libraryland!
 
This page was updated: 8/11/23
 

About The Book:

In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more.
 
This is the true story of their search for—and identification of—the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy’s grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself.
 
Like one of Preston’s thrillers, The Monster of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide—and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.
 
bookshop.org // Amazon // Audiobook
&nsbp;

Current Production Status:

The series is listed as in pre-production but there have been no updates since 2021.
 

The Monster of Florence Adaptation Timeline:

The English translation of the book was published in June 2008, two years after the Italian manuscript. A few months later it was announced that United Artists had acquired the film rights.
 
In 2010 the project was taken over by Fox 2000 and George Clooney signed on to play the lead role. This version got stuck in a ‘development hell’ state and Clooney dropped out of the role but remained connected as an executive producer.
 
Douglas Preston revealed in a Facebook post in July 2018 that the movie was moving along and that the new director, Nikolaj Arcel, had plans to begin filming the next spring.
 
In June 2021 it was announced that Antonio Banderas would be playing the lead role and the project had changed to a 6 episode mini-series with scripts being writter.
There have been no further updates since then.
 

Who Owns The Rights:

StudioCanal (Babylon) is currently leading production on the project with Smokehouse Pictures (George Clooney), Heyday Films (Barbie), and Jinks/Cohen Company (Pushing Daisies) all co-producing.
It’s moved companies a few times but these are the names attached for now.
 

Who Is Attached:

Antonio Banderas is currently signed on to play the lead in the series.
Who would you like to see join the cast? Leave your dream casting in the comments!
 

Filming Locations:

With the project still in the very early stages of development there are currently no known filming locations yet.
 

Estimated Release:

There is currently no estimated release timeframe made public as of Summer 2023 for when this movie will come to our screens.
 

 

Previous mentions on AiLL:

This book has not been featured on Alison in Libraryland before.
 
Make sure you sign up for the The Adaptation Watch newsletter, sent out every Saturday morning with all of the latest news on any & all adaptations. Don’t worry about missing an update when it’s coming straight to your inbox!
 

Happy Reading!!
~Alison

The Monster of Florence Adaptation: Everything We Know So Far About The New Series

 
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 The Monster of Florence adaptation, based on the book by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi.