The Neverending Story: What We Know About The New Movie Adaptation

Back in 1984, director Wolfgang Peterson brought to life the world of The Neverending Story with a family-friendly and vastly imaginative adaptation of Michael Ende’s novel of the same name that enraptured a generation and remains one of the best ’80s movies. Anyone who grew up with The Neverending Story hasn’t soon forgotten Falkor, the white luck dragon that the movie’s protagonist triumphantly rides in the sky, or the catchy theme song by Limahl that became part of Stranger Things’ great musical moments in Season 3. As it often goes with beloved franchises in Hollywood, The Neverending Story is now set to get a remake in the near future!

Newly among the many upcoming book-to-screen adaptations on their way to us is not one, but potentially multiple live-action movies for The Neverending Story thanks to a report that came out in March 2024. In celebration of the exciting news, check out everything we know about the new movie adaptation for The Neverending Story.

What Is The Neverending Story Release Date?

((Image credit: Warner Bros. ))

For the time being, there is no set release date for the upcoming Neverending Story movie. Considering news of the movie existing at all only became known to the public in March 2024, this makes a lot of sense for the time being. However, the producers behind this adaptation do have something massive under their belts already that should help them go smoothly through the process of making a movie out of The Neverending Story. The production company behind it has teamed up directly with the author’s production company, Michael Ende Productions, to develop and produce them.

While the German author behind The Neverending Story died back in 1995, his legacy is alive and well through Ende’s executor Dr. Wolf-Dieter von Granau, who granted the partnership with See-Saw Films, which is co-producing the upcoming films. AVA exec Ralph Gassmann said this, via Variety, of the films in the works:

We’ve been completely overwhelmed with interest from the television and film industry in recent years. But it was only about four to five years ago when we felt it was right to go back to Fantastica with new, fresher attention. So then we looked at hundreds and hundreds of requests and just thought, let’s see if we find a potential partner amongst them that is so compelling that they make us jump into the boat with them and go on this crazy adventure. But we knew we had to do it right and find the right partner, and luckily See-Saw was amongst them.

We’ll get into who See-Saw productions is more in depth later in this article, but at this time The Neverending Story is in too early of development for us to determine a release date.

Who Is In The Neverending Story Cast?

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The Neverending Story adaptation isn’t far enough along in the production process either to have found its cast yet. First the movie will need to land an official script writer and director. However, once it does move further into the production process, there’s quite a few characters to cast.

Its lead will need to be played by a young actor who is around the age of 10 for the role of Bastian Balthazar Bux. The movie is full of young actors that might require quite the search from filmmakers to find the right person for. Additionally, many of the characters are fantastical creatures that may only need to contribute their vocal talents.

The Neverending Story Is About A Child’s Discovery Of A Fantastical Land

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In terms of the plotline of The Neverending Story, the 1979 novel the movie will be based on is about a young boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux, who is bullied at school and neglected by his father following the tragic death of his mother. While fleeing his bullies, he runs into a bookstore and ends up stealing a novel titled The Neverending Story, which he begins reading in secret. As Bastian gets through the story of a land called Fantastica, he becomes bewildered by how the characters in the story are aware of the fact that he is reading about them, before later being brought into the world and really becoming part of the characters’ adventures.

Fantastica is ruled by The Childlike Empress, who lives in the capital of the land called the Ivory Tower. Rather than the monarch interacting with her kingdom, she stays in her home, especially since if the empress dies, the kingdom and its people and creatures would cease to exist. At the beginning of The Neverending Story, we learn that the empress is ill and she has chosen a boy warrior named Atreyu to find a cure for her. As Atreyu sets off on his journey, he is given a protection amulet called AURYN and goes in search of an oracle named Uyulala. A luck dragon named Falkor assists him on his grand quest to save Fantastica.

See-Saw Productions Is Behind The Adaptation

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The production company spearheading the return of The Neverending Story is See-Saw Films, which was founded in 2008. In the second year of the company releasing movies, one of its productions The King’s Speech ended up winning Best Picture at the 2011 ceremony. Since then, See-Saw films has attracted all sorts of talent, from Steve McQueen for Shame and Widows to Garth Davis for Lion starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, Mary Magdalene starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix and Foe lead by Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan.

Additionally, the company has also been behind Jane Campion’s 2022 Best Picture nominee, The Power of the Dog, which had the director among the winners at the 2022 Academy Awards, or critically-acclaimed shows like AppleTV+’s Slow Horses and Netflix’s Heartstopper. According to a report by Variety, See-Saw and Michael Ende Productions hope to put a “fresh perspective” for a new generation on the beloved property.

The Neverending Story Is Being Produced As A Live-Action Franchise

((Image credit: Warner Bros.))

Additionally, the producers behind The Neverending Story hope to make the adaptation the beginning of a multi-film franchise rather than making just one adaptation. To be clear, the book does not have sequels, but considering the depth of the world, they must believe there’s a chance here to expand the story further. The original ‘80s movie ended up being a trilogy of movies itself, but the quality of the sequels could never match Wolfgang Peterson’s classic.

There’s a long way to go for The Neverending Story before we can see it in theaters, but it’s certainly exciting that it’s in development. We’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend.