Netflix is feeling remarkably bright about its future with filmmaker Olivia Newman.
The streaming giant is back to work with the writer and director of his hit film Remarkably bright creaturescomes at the head of a bidding war for the rights to the award-winning novel The remembering soldier By Anjeet Dhanji.
This film will be written and directed by Newman, who will collaborate with her again Bright creatures Producers Bryan Unkeless and Peter Craig, who will work through their Night Owl Stories banner.
It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was longlisted for the International Booker Prize. soldier It is a Dutch historical novel set in the aftermath of World War I.
The story follows a severely traumatized war veteran suffering from amnesia with no memory of his pre-war identity, and Julianne Coppins, a woman who arrives claiming to be her husband, the photographer Amand, whom she has lost for years.
The tension in the novel is driven by the question of whether or not the woman is telling the truth, even as the two are drawn into a life he cannot remember. Themes of identity, memory, and the fragility of the self are woven into a love story built on longing and the aching human need to know.
The novel, published by New Vessel Press last year, has become a literary darling, having been named one of The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2025, a Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2025, and one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2025, among other awards. She also received the 2026 Republic of Awareness Award.
Night Owl Stories’ Gregory Cohen will executive produce.
This project is the latest to showcase the literary talents of Newman, who has been quietly establishing herself as a destination for dramatic book adaptations. Newman is earning praise for having previously directed the 2022 Sony drama Where Crawdads Sing.
Now with Bright creaturesIt makes Sally Field a streaming star. The film, which is an adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s best-selling film, was released on Friday, and just three days after its release, it jumped into the top 10. On Mother’s Day, it was the number one movie on Netflix. The film also inspires viral TikTok videos of viewers crying while watching the film.
soldier It will be her fourth book adaptation as a director and her second as a writer. This will be her third time with Unkeless, which produced its first feature film, the wrestling drama First match.
Newman is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen. The Daanje deal was executed by Hotchkiss Daily & Associates on behalf of Uitgeverij Passage and New Vessel.
