(Paris) Canal+ will produce a live-action film based on Asterix to “inaugurate in style” a new label dedicated to adaptations of literary works, the audiovisual group and the publishing house announced on Monday.
The film’s release date is not known.
“In 2023, almost half of the biggest hits at the American and French cinema box offices were literary adaptations,” explained the president of Canal+, Maxime Saada, to the shareholders of Vivendi (parent company of Canal+), gathered in general assembly.
“This is why, inspired by the merger of Vivendi and the Lagardère group”, which includes Hachette Livre, the leading French publisher and third worldwide, “we decided to create a new label at StudioCanal, StudioCanal Stories,” continued Mr. Saada.
This announcement follows the creation in 2022 of a department dedicated to the adaptations of literary works into films and series, a “first” for a film studio, according to the manager.
“Our first project, to inaugurate this new label in style, will be the next adaptation of Hachette’s most powerful franchise, in comics and in cinema, the absolute number one in all categories, the most popular French character throughout the world , Asterix, whose next film StudioCanal will develop in “live action” “, he added.
“Studiocanal was able to convince us of its ambition, its international know-how, the quality of its teams and its professionalism,” praised Isabelle Magnac, president of Éditions Albert René, publisher of Asterix since 1980 , in a joint press release with the studio. “It is together and in close proximity that we will develop this new opus around the legendary work created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo,” she added.
In 2023, Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom was the fifth live-action film based on the adventures of the diehard Gauls. Co-produced by Pathé and directed by Guillaume Canet, it attracted 4.6 million spectators in French cinemas, the biggest success in French cinema that year.
Independently of the Canal+ project, an animated series adapted from the album The battle of the leadersdirected by Alain Chabat, is also expected on Netflix in 2025, while an animated film produced by M6 is due to be released in 2026.
With 400 million albums sold in 130 languages and dialects, the adventures of Asterix, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, represent “by far the greatest success of comics in the world”, according to Éditions Albert René.