Jon Watts is moving from Spider-Man and Star Wars to true crime as the director has found his latest project in Murder 101. The news coincides with the reveal that Amazon MGM Studios will be the company behind the upcoming production after an intense bidding war between multiple studios over the last week, according to Deadline. The adaptation hails from the KT Studios podcast of the same name that found itself at the top of the charts on iHeart’s list. A gripping story of the uncovering of a serial killer, the audio series followed the true tale of a group of students and their teacher at a Tennessee high school who found themselves at the center of a serial killer’s story. The teacher and his pupils used the killer for a profiling study and ultimately helped law enforcement catch the murderer.
Before audiences will see how Watts transitions the podcast to feature-length form, the director will drop his production Wolfs onto screens around the world. Featuring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, the movie centers around a pair of lone wolves in the murder-for-hire industry who are forced to work together when their paths meet. In the past, Watts became a notable name for his work in the MCU as the helmer behind the latest trilogy of Spider-Man films led by Tom Holland and Zendaya. While Holland has been very vocal about being game for future Spider-Man flicks, as of right now nothing has been set in stone for the return of Peter Parker following the box office-smashing Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Meanwhile, Star Wars fans have been gearing up to catch Watts’ work in the Disney+ series, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which the filmmaker co-created, directed, and executive produced. The project, which is due out later this year, stars Jude Law and will be using plenty of new technology to make the story come to life. As for what else lies ahead for Watts, during Collider’s Directors on Directing panel at CCXP, the filmmaker revealed that he would be interested in dipping into the world of horror and backing a new A Nightmare on Elm Street feature, though nothing has been confirmed yet.
The World Loves A Good True Crime Adaptation
With Watts backing Murder 101, the production is in more than capable hands to continue the toppling wave of true-crime stories that have turned into on-screen entertainment. It will be interesting to see how the adaptation is handled in a feature-length manner as, for the majority of these cases, it seems like episodic installments are the way to go. Uber-popular titles like Dr. Death, Dirty John, and The Thing About Pam, have sucked audiences in for entire seasons, leaving them wanting — and sometimes receiving — more. The film format will allow Watts and the rest of the creative team to tell the story in a faster fashion while still allowing them plenty of room to get the details right.
As of right now, Murder 101 hasn’t set a release date but stay tuned to Collider for more information. In the meantime, you can watch the first two movies in Watts‘ Spider-Man trilogy on Disney+ and catch Spider-Man: No Way Home on Fubo.
via Collider