Confirmed: Jeff Nichols Set to Direct Cormac McCarthy's ‘The Passenger' & ‘Stella Maris'

In April, I had been told, by two separate sources, that Jeff Nichols was in talks to adapt the late Cormac McCarthy’s last two novels, “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris.” Last I heard, he was close to striking a deal with the McCarthy estate to adapt these works.

We now have confirmation, via an interview Jeff Nichols gave to Awards Watch, that it’s a done deal. New Regency has boarded the films. This will be an ambitious task for Nichols, who has not been shy in his admittance that McCarthy has profoundly influenced his films.

I’m not entirely sure if this will be his next film, but I had heard that Nichols, a major McCarthy fan, was “deeply passionate” about bringing “The Passenger” to the big screen. He has one other project, a “big sci-fi film,” that is currently in development. If I had to bet, the McCarthy films are next.

“The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” were McCarthy’s final novels, both released in 2022. Set in New Orleans, around 1980, “The Passenger” followed Bobby and Alicia Western, two siblings whose father helped develop the atomic bomb. The book opens with her suicide.

McCarthy first began writing “The Passenger” in the 1980s, drafting the novel, intermittently, over the next few decades. It was finally released 40 years later, to mostly positive reactions from literary critics.

Some have succeeded in adapting McCarthy novels for the big screen (“No Country For Old Men”) and others haven’t (“All the Pretty Horses”). John Hillcoat, who adapted “The Road”, is still working on his “Blood Meridian” big screen adaptation, with a screenplay penned by the late author himself.

Nichols’ first film in over eight years, “The Bikeriders,” premiered last year at Telluride, to mostly positive reviews, and is set to be released later this summer. It’s been the longest break of his career. His other credits include “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” and “Midnight Special.”