Academy Award-nominee Elliot Page's Pageboy Productions has optioned the rights to the 2021 YA sci-fi novel The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, according to The Hollywood Reporter exclusive.
The actor runs Pageboy with Matt Jordan Smith and Tuck Dowrey.
The Darkness Outside Us: From #BookTok to the Big Screen
The story follows two young men from rival countries sent to space on a craft on the same rescue mission. Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, without any memory of the launch. He realizes that there were other people on the ship, the operating system has his mother's voice and his shipmate Kodiak has barricaded himself.
One thing he does remember is that he's on a mission to rescue his sister. He and Kodiak realize that they have to work together to survive and learn to trust each other.
In a statement, Pageboy's founders said, “We are proud to stand behind Eliot's remarkable work. The Darkness Outside Us is exactly the type of story we want to champion at PAGEBOY — it's subversive and deeply human at its core.”
“It's a complex love story, inventive thriller, and a space epic with twists at every turn. We cannot wait to take the next steps towards getting it on the big screen,” the statement continued.
Article Continues BelowThe sequel to Schrefer's book, The Brightness Between Us, will be released on Oct. 1.
The author said, “What would I hope for most for my novel? An agile, young, motivated production company that's buzzy in Hollywood — and that's just what I got with PAGEBOY Productions. I'm so excited by their vision for The Darkness Outside Us and honored to have the talents of Elliot and Matt and Tuck and the rest of the team devoted to it.”
Pageboy was founded in 2021. Its slate includes the 2023 dramas Close to You, which also starred founder Page, and Backspot, starring Evan Rachel Wood, which premiered at the Toronto Film Fest.
Page was nominated for a best actress Oscar in the 2007 movie Juno. The actor was last seen in the hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, playing Vanya/Viktor Hargreeves. The series fifth and final season will premiere on Aug. 8.
Elliot Page recently released his memoir, Pageboy, which hit the New York Times bestseller list.