Cormac McCarthy Will Write ‘Blood Meridian’ Film Adaptation

If you’re adapting “Blood Meridian” then you best not miss. Everybody knows that. Cormac McCarthy’s masterfully violent 1985 novel is a tough read but also an essential American novel. It’s surely McCarthy’s magnum opus.

There have been multiple attempts to adapt this novel into a film: Tommy Lee Jones, Ridley Scott and, even, James Franco attempted to direct a film adaptation in the ‘90s and ‘00s, but none have succeeded.

John Hillcoat, who also directed an adaptation of McCarthy’s “The Road” in 2009, announced in April that he will bring ‘Meridian’ to the big screen. Today, via The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast, Hillcoat revealed that the screenplay was written by McCarthy himself.

“[Cormac McCarthy] has become a dear, dear close friend […] And over the years, we discussed how he had lost control of “Blood Meridian,” and it was a mutual task to get it back because he knew how to crack it. A lot of people have tried author his input.

McCarthy, who is turning 90 this July, will also executive produce. This isn’t the first screenplay Mccarthy has written — he also penned Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor,” a gonzo statement that polarized critics back in 2013.

Some have succeeded in adapting McCarthy novels for the screen (“No Country For Old Men”) and others haven’t (“All the Pretty Horses”). Hillcoat’s adaptation of “The Road” falls somewhere in the middle. It was a good movie, but you just felt like Hillcoat didn’t totally knock it out of the park.

“Blood Meridian” is a horrifying read, but a necessary one. It’s a sprawling exploration of violence and depravity in the American West, tackling the 1850s human scalping trade. Scalpings, sexual assaults, and pedophilia and much more show up in the story.