It’s taken 20 years, but anArtemis Fowlmovieis finally seeing the light of day.
Below, Colfer andArtemis FowldirectorKenneth Branaghtake EW through the film’s long and winding voyage.
“It just seemed surreal to me,” Colfer says.
Credit: Disney
“I think at some point some of the characters fromLord of the Ringscame in.
So it really wasn’t anArtemis Fowlmovie at all.
It was just using the name.
Hyperion
That was truly horrifying.”
He adds: “With each new director, my heart sank a little bit more.”
2006-2011
Welcome to development hell.
David Levenson/Getty Images
I never was really interested in doing the studio thing, so they would go and do that."
2013
By this point, Colfer had given up on pursuing the movie any further.
“You hear so many stories about books that don’t get made.
Rich Fury/Getty Images
Douglas Adams died before his movie was made.”
Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal also signed on as executive producers.
(Disney terminated its partnership with TWC in 2017.)
Disney
“So I felt like it was a really fresh way to be exposed to the story.”
Serendipitously, Disney called a week later to gauge his interest in the franchise.
First, he wanted to “return to the source [material] that’s Eoin Colfer.”
“It should be short.
This is a 90-minute movie, as far as I’m concerned.
One of the things about theArtemisbooks is that they grow on you.
They get under your skin.
Despite Colfer’s reservations, his enthusiasm about the project started returning.
We’ve cast Colin Ferrell.
“Then my little voice would say, ‘Calm down now.
Something is going to happen, it’s going to fall apart.’
I think maybe it’s an Irish thing to always be a bit pessimistic.”
A spring 2018 set visit changed everything for the author.
“You just say, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty amazing.’
It was quite emotional, actually.
That was the moment my pessimist switch was probably turned off, because even that was fantastic.”
It’s always felt quite nimble and light on its feet.”
Branagh was also grateful that the postponement gave them more time to work on special effects.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, prompting the film to migrate to Disney+ for a June 12 release.
