HarperCollins

Terry Pratchett's comedic fantasy The Wee Free Men is making the journey from page to screen, with a little help from the studio behind Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

First published in 2003, The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld follows Tiffany Aching, a trainee witch armed with a frying pan. After she encounters the Nac Mac Feegles – tiny, blue kilt-wearing fae who speak in Glaswegian accents and only she can see - her powers are awakened, with the 'wee free men' helping Tiffany rescue her brother from the Queen of the Fairies.


The first book in one of Discworld's many sub-series, The Wee Free Men was followed by A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight and The Shepherd's Crown, all charting Tiffany's growth into her magical abilities. The latter was Pratchett's final novel, published posthumously in August 2015 following his passing in March of the same year.

The cinematic version of Wee Free Men will be developed in partnership between The Jim Henson Company and Narrativia, the independent production company which owns and manages the rights to all of Terry Pratchett's works. His daughter, Rhianna Pratchett – herself an award-winning writer for games including Rise of the Tomb Raiderand Overlord – will pen the adaptation.

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"I've loved the Jim Henson Company's work all my life, so it's a great honour to team up with them and bring Wee Free Men to the big screen," said Rhianna Pratchett, via statement.

Rhianna Pratchett has been working on getting Wee Free Men to the screen since at least 2013. The book had previously been optioned by Sony Pictures, with Spider-Man and The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi attached. However, Terry Pratchett called the proposed script for that version "awful", adding that "it seemed to be Wee Free Men in name only. It had all the hallmarks of something that had been good, and then the studio had got involved."

Things look more promising for Narrativia and Henson's take on the material, with the plot description in the announcement directly echoing the book's.

It reads, "A nightmarish danger threatens from the other side of reality. Armed with only a frying pan and her common sense, [a] young witch-to-be must defend her home against the monsters of Fairyland. Luckily she has some very unusual help: the local Nac Mac Feegles – aka the Wee Free Men – a clan of fierce, sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men. Together they must face headless horsemen, ferocious grimhounds, terrifying dreams come true, and ultimately the most powerful force of all – the Queen."


The Jim Henson Company is responsible for classics including Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, as well as cult sci-fi TV series Farscape and perennial favourites, The Muppets and Sesame Street. The studio has long been a pioneer of practical effects and animatronics, preferring physical costumes and puppets to excessive CGI, which should result in a unique look for the film.

"As a family owned company, we fully understand the importance of legacy properties," added Brian Henson, chairman of The Jim Henson Company and producer on the film. "The Discworld series is a richly developed world with devoted fans, myself included, and there is no one better than Rhianna to bring Terry's beloved project to life on the big screen."

Fans of Pratchett's darkly satirical work may be waiting a while to see tiny blue men running around their cineplex though - at present, no release date, casting, or creative appointments for Wee Free Men have been announced.