Michael Sarnoski to Helm Sabrina Adaptation for New Regency

According to Deadline, Michael Sarnoski has officially been tapped to write and direct New Regency’s forthcoming film adaptation of Sabrina, based on Nick Drnaso’s graphic novel of the same name. The story centers around the aftermath of a young woman’s murder and its effect on the victim’s loved ones, leading to the emergence of conspiracy theories surrounding the case.

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Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina was first published in 2018 by Drawn & Quarterly. Since its release, it has received recognition from The New York Times and was the first-ever graphic novel to be nominated for the Man Booker Prize.

“When Sabrina disappears, an airman in the U.S. Air Force is drawn into a web of suppositions, wild theories, and outright lies,” reads the book’s synopsis. “He reports to work every night in a bare, sterile fortress that serves as no protection from a situation that threatens the sanity of Teddy, his childhood friend and the boyfriend of the missing woman. Sabrina’s grieving sister, Sandra, struggles to fill her days as she waits in purgatory. After a videotape surfaces, we see devastation through a cinematic lens, as true tragedy is distorted when fringe thinkers and conspiracy theorists begin to interpret events to fit their own narratives.

“Sabrina depicts a modern world devoid of personal interaction and responsibility, where relationships are stripped of intimacy through glowing computer screens. Presenting an indictment of our modern state, Drnaso contemplates the dangers of a fake-news climate. Timely and articulate, Sabrina leaves you gutted, searching for meaning in the aftermath of disaster.”

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The Sabrina adaptation hails from New Regency and RT Features, with RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixeira set as a producer. New Regency is also financing the film.

This marks Sarnoski’s latest project following his acclaimed feature directorial debut Pig, which starred Nicolas Cage and Alex Wolff. The rising filmmaker is also currently working on Paramount’s A Quiet Place spin-off film.