Melina Matsoukas to Direct 'Parable of the Sower' Movie at Warner Bros.
Variety • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Melina Matsoukas, known for directing "Queen & Slim" and collaborating with Beyoncé, will direct and produce the film adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 dystopian novel "Parable of the Sower."
- The novel, set in early 2020s California amid climate change and economic collapse, follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman with hyperempathy, as she navigates social chaos and the emergence of a new faith.
- Octavia E. Butler was a pioneering Black woman in science fiction, receiving numerous awards including the MacArthur Genius Grant, and her "Parable" novels are often compared to classics like Orwell’s "1984" and Atwood’s "The Handmaid’s Tale."
- Matsoukas will produce the film through her company De La Revolucion, alongside Color Force producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, with Jules Jackson, managing director of Butler’s estate, executive producing.
- The project is being overseen by Khaliah Neal at Color Force and Sheila Walcott at Warner Bros., with Jackson managing all aspects of Butler’s intellectual property and estate.
