Apparently they didn't have the make-up to turn Johnny Depp into a 16-year-old boarding school student, so “Hugo” and “Ender's Game” star Asa Butterfield is Tim Burton's top choice for the lead in the upcoming “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.”
Based on Ransom Riggs's best selling fantasy novel, “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children” follows 16-year-old boy Jacob as he investigates his grandfather's paranormal murder, meets a firestarter named Emma, and travels back in time to 1940 to miss the titular caretaker. The “peculiar children” are like a Hogwartsian spin on the X-Men, each with their own super-powered gifts. The Wrap reports that, if deals go down the way they're predicted to, Butterfield will take on the role of Jacob alongside Eva Green's Miss Peregrine.
The disappointing returns of “Frankenweenie” and “Dark Shadows” aren't keeping Burton down. The gothic auteur's next film, “Big Eyes,” is looking like a lock in a number of awards categories. A revered source material should help keep Burton on track with “Miss Peregrine”; a Publisher's Weekly review called it “an eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”
Butterfield was recently seen opposite Sally Hawkins in the Toronto premiere, “X+Y.” He'll next star in “Ten Thousand Saints,” an indie drama costarring Ethan Hawke and Hailee Steinfeld. Though “Ender's Game” sequels were discussed after the modest debut of the first film, any movement on the franchise is likely wishful thinking from fans.
20th Century Fox will release “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiars” on March 4, 2016.