Spielberg May Lead Us To “The 39 Clues”


According to Variety, Dreamworks has acquired the right to “The 39 Clues,” Scholastic’s multiplatform, 10-book, fantasy adventure series, that will launch on September 9th. Steven Spielberg is considering directing the project that many are saying could be the next Harry Potter.

The 10 books of “The 39 Clues” series are to be released over two years. “The 39 Clues” is described as a multimedia adventure that will include a set of collectible cards and an online game that will serve as a portal as young readers try to solve a mystery for a grand prize of $10,000. The contest will run for the full two years.

At the center of “The 39 Clues” is the Cahills, the most powerful family in the world. Counted among their relatives are Benjamin Franklin, Mozart, Napoleon and Houdini. At the beginning of the first book, “The Maze of Bones,” the family matriarch, Grace, dies just after changing her will. Her descendants are given the choice between $1 million or a clue. The series will follow Amy (14) and Dan (11) Cahill who enter into a race against other branches of the family to be the first to find the 39 clues which are hidden and scattered around the world and that will lead to the secret of the family’s power.

“There is enough material here for three or four movies,” DreamWorks co-chair/CEO Stacey Snider told Daily Variety. “Steven is very involved and passionate. This excites me as an executive but also as a mother. It is an educational, challenging interactive experience that hits kids where they live.”

I think this sounds exactly like something Spielberg would be interested in and would be good at bringing to the screen. I think it unlikely that he would choose to direct three or four movies, but I could see him maybe doing the first one or two to sort of set the tone and feel of the films before handing them off to someone else.

Should Spielberg choose to direct a film in the series, however, it would have to wait a bit. Spielberg’s next film is Tintin which he’s doing with Peter Jackson then he’s already committed to the long-gestating Lincoln biopic project that Liam Neeson will be starring in.

Advertise with Pop Critics

12 Responses to “Spielberg May Lead Us To “The 39 Clues””

  1. I had no idea that Benjamin Franklin, Mozart, Napoleon and Houdini were all related!

  2. Anything Spielberg touches is gold (unless Lucas is involved, then it's fool's gold). Sounds like a good idea. I remember spending hours and hours reading the Hardy Boy mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. This sounds like it will be somewhat along those lines.

  3. Anything Spielberg touches is gold (unless Lucas is involved, then it's fool's gold). Sounds like a good idea. I remember spending hours and hours reading the Hardy Boy mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. This sounds like it will be somewhat along those lines.

  4. ROTFL - that was worth a point…

  5. ROTFL - that was worth a point…

  6. I don't get how it's anything like Harry Potter…

  7. I don't get how it's anything like Harry Potter…

  8. I'm not saying it is. There are people in the industry who think it has the same potential that Harry Potter had to grow a huge following and make several movies with lots of tie-ins, games, etc. That's the context by which they're comparing it to Harry Potter. Not in story.

  9. I'm not saying it is. There are people in the industry who think it has the same potential that Harry Potter had to grow a huge following and make several movies with lots of tie-ins, games, etc. That's the context by which they're comparing it to Harry Potter. Not in story.

  10. Ah… Thanks.

  11. Ah… Thanks.

  12. Thanks for sharing . really good info

    Best regards
    John
    free online game

Leave a Reply

By submitting a comment here you grant this site a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution.