Lord of the Rings director will write and produce, while his longtime protege Christian Rivers will direct adaptation of steampunk fantasy series

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Peter Jackson has found his next project: a film adaptation of Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines books. The New Zealand director will write and produce the film adaptation of Philip Reeve’s tetralogy about a dystopian steampunk future, with his protege Christian Rivers making his debut in the director’s chair.

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Rivers, also from New Zealand, has collaborated with Jackson on many films, starting with the zombie splatter film Braindead in 1992 and on all six films in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series.

Rivers is a visual effects specialist and won an Oscar for his work on 2005’s King Kong, which Jackson directed.

The Mortal Engines series is set in the distant future after a war has ravaged the Earth and cities have been turned into mobile machines that compete for resources. Jackson optioned the film rights to the series from Scholastic in 2009.

“Christian is one of my closest collaborators,” Jackson told the Hollywood Reporter. “The combination of emotion and jaw-dropping visuals in Mortal Engines makes this the perfect movie for his move into feature directing. What Christian intends to do with Philip Reeve’s terrific story is going to result in an original and spectacular movie. I wish I could see it tomorrow!”