After the success of the miniseries Queen's Gambit, it was learned that writer and director Scott Frank would team up again with actress Anya Taylor-Joy for a new project: the adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Laughter in The Dark. Everything indicated that Netflix would once again be behind the title, but now the company has rejected its financing. A publication in The New Yorker states that the streaming service refused to produce three projects by Scott Frank (who has a Oscar nomination in 2017 for the screenplay of Logan).
While the outlet does not detail why Netflix decided not to fund this particular project that had Anya Taylor-Joy as the lead, Frank acknowledged the complexities of getting the story right. The original Laughter in The Dark novel, often cited as a precursor to Lolita, tells the story of an adult art critic who becomes obsessed with a 17-year-old girl and deals with themes of "irony, desire and disappointment." According to Scott Frank, he hoped to give it a "film noir" treatment and a female perspective along with screenwriter Megan Abbott.
At the moment, with the streaming service's refusal it is unclear whether the project will finally materialize or not. In addition, no one knows if the actress will remain within the project or not. On the other hand, Anya Taylor-Joy is an actress who has been slowly rising in the entertainment industry. With her performance in Queen's Gambit, the actress started to be in the spotlight of many productions. The most recent is 'The Menu' alongside Ralph Fiennes and Nicholas Hoult.
Quenn's Gambit, which won Netflix two Golden Globes, is available on its platform.
