Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy star in The Magic Faraway Tree

Martin de Boer and Juanquer

Enid Blyton adaptation Distant magic tree It has found a key cast in the form of two-time Academy Award nominee Andrew Garfield (Amazing Spider-Man) and two-time Emmy Award winner Claire Foy (We are all strangers).

Neal Street Productions, Elysian Film Group and Ashland Hill Media Finance are behind the film, which is directed by BAFTA Award winner Simon Farnaby.Paddington 2(It will be directed by Ben Gregor)Britannia).

Based on The distant tree A series of children’s novels, the film revolves around Polly and Tim and their children Beth, Joe and Fran, a modern family that finds itself forced to move to the remote English countryside. Garfield will play Tim and Foy will take on the role of Polly.

Shortly after the family arrives in the countryside, the children discover a magical tree and its unusual and eccentric inhabitants including prized characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Washalot and Saucepan Man. At the top of the tree, they are transported to amazing, fantastical lands, and through the joys and challenges of their adventures, the family learns to reconnect and appreciate each other for the first time in years.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin next month, with additional casting currently underway.

Ashland Hill Media Finance is fully funded. Palisades Park Pictures is handling global sales, with CAA Media Finance co-representing US rights, and will continue sales at the Cannes market this month.

Producers are Pippa Harris and Nicholas Brown from All3Media-owned Neal Street Productions, along with Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins and Jane Hawkes. Executive producers include Simon Williams of Ashland Hill Media Finance, Joe Simpson and Jonathan Bruce, and Tamara Berkimo of Palisades Park Pictures. The film had been in development for several years, with Perkins, Harris and Brown working on the film while the former was running Studiocanal UK.

Simon Farnaby said: “Having actors of the quality of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy is a screenwriter’s dream. I’ve long admired their warmth, their intelligence and their lightness of touch. Plus, they have the ability to bring complexities to their characters that I don’t have the ability to write… I mean, Even Enid Blyton might be impressed by the presence of Spider-Man and the Queen…

Ben Gregor added: “Andrew and Claire are amazing performers and I’m thrilled to have them in this film. They are the cornerstones of our big world and the perfect people to bring our beautiful script to life.”

Claire Foy is repped by Independent Talent Group and UTA. Andrew Garfield is represented by Gordon & French, CAA and Sloane, Offer.