Hot Package: ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp’ Scribe Patrick Burleigh Adapts Beloved Hannah Gold Children’s Book ‘The Last Bear’

Mike Fleming Jr
·1-min read

EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Burleigh, the screenwriter/playwright whose credits include the Marvel movies The Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has turned in a scripted adaptation of the award winning children’s book The Last Bear by Hannah Gold. The producers are now going out to directors.

Producers are Ara Keshishian of ZQ Entertainment (upcoming Locked with Anthony Hopkins and Bill Skarsgard), Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe Films (Hitman), and Matt Wexler of WexWorks media  (Paw Patrol). ZQ financed the development of the script.

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Published by Harper Collins in 2021, the novel won the BBC’s Blue Peter Award,  and has become a fixture in schools libraries and has been translate in over 27 languages. Its sequel, Finding Bear, was also a bestseller when published last year.

The story focuses on the unlikely friendship of the 11-year old April and a lost Polar Bear in the Arctic.  As April grows further apart from her widower father, she resolves to help the bear get back where he belongs – no matter what it takes, including risking her own life. The novel mixes the adventure of life in the Arctic Circle with danger, excitement, and a touching exploration of April’s relationship with her father. There is also the backdrop of a thought-provoking exploration of the climate emergency.

Burleigh is repped by UTA, Kaplan/Perrone and Kopeikin Law.

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