Grab the shovels and get digging, as Camp Green Lake will soon open its doors for a return trip. Holes, the 2003 film based on Louis Sachar’s 1998 novel of the same name, has landed a TV series reboot at Disney+, with a female lead set to drive the story.
As reported by Variety, the gender-swapped premise centres on “a teenage girl [who] is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden focuses the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.” Alina Mankin (Lodge 49) is penning the script, while Liz Phang (Yellowjackets) serves as showrunner. The pair are also co-producing the project alongside Drew Goddard and Sarah Esberg, with other details, including a release widow and casting choices, pending confirmation.
Directed by Andrew Davis, the original Holes movie starred Shia LeBeouf as Stanley Yelnats, who gets sentenced to 18 months of hard labour at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp. The Transformers regular was joined by Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy), Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), singer-actress Eartha Kitt, and more.
The big screen adaptation received praise for its faithfulness to the source material, which itself has sold several million copies to date. Holes won the National Book Award and Newberry Medal in 1998 and 1999, respectively, with its complex plot, character development, suspense, and exploration of real world themes like racism, institutional discrimination, and masculinity adding other accolades to its haul.
It remains to be seen how much of the original elements will be tweaked for this new take on Holes, considering its non-linear storytelling that integrates past and present events, as well as the significance of Stanley’s identity and lineage to the overarching plot. In any case, one thing’s for sure – the House of Mouse has some big shoes to fill.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
