Ridley Scott signs up for a lot of movies – far more than he can ever actually make – and so many of them end up going to other directors. That seems to be happening with Child 44, which Scott was attached to helm but Deadline reports now has Safe House director Child 44 attached.
The film will be based on British novelist Tom Rob Smith’s chilling crime novel, which focuses on a string of heinous child murders. The book was inspired by the shocking and true story of Andrei Chikatilo, a Ukrainian serial killer known as the Rostov Ripper who was prosecuted and executed for committing 52 murders within the USSR’s borders. Making these crimes even more terrifying is the cultural zeitgeist that allowed him to remain hidden for so long.
While Espinosa is also attached to The Outsider, he’s likely to have to prioritise Child 44, as Lionsgate wants to shoot it next year.