Canal+ will produce a live-action film based on Astérix to “inaugurate in beauty” a new brand dedicated to adaptations of literary works, the audiovisual group and the publisher announced on Monday. The premiere date is not known. “In 2023 , almost half of the biggest box office hits in American and French cinema were literary adaptations”, explained the president of Canal+, Maxime Saada, to the shareholders of Vivendi (owner of Canal+), gathered at a general meeting. “That is why, inspired by merger of Vivendi and the Lagardère group”, which includes Hachette Livre, the main French and third world publisher, “we decided to create a new brand within StudioCanal, StudioCanal Stories”, continued Saada.This announcement follows the creation, in 2022, of of a department dedicated to adaptations of literary works for films and series, an “innovation” for a film studio, according to the manager. “Our first project, to inaugurate this new brand in beauty, will be the next adaptation of the most powerful saga in history. Hachette, in comics and cinema, the absolute number one in all categories, the most popular French character in the world, Astérix, who StudioCanal will develop in real image”, he added. “Studiocanal managed to convince us of its ambition, its international know-how, the quality of its teams and its professionalism”, praised Isabelle Magnac, president of Editions Albert René, publisher of Astérix since 1980, in a joint press release with the studio. “It will be together and in close proximity that we will develop this new chapter around the legendary work created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo”, he added. In 2023, “Asterix & Obélix: The Middle Kingdom” was the fifth real-life film based on the adventures of the obstinate Gauls . Co-produced by Pathé and directed by Guillaume Canet, it attracted 4.6 million spectators to French cinemas, the biggest success in French cinema that year. Independently of the Canal+ project, an animated series adapted from the album “O Combate dos Bosses”, directed by Alain Chabat, is also scheduled for Netflix in 2025, while an animated film produced by M6 is expected 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 , representing “by far the biggest comics success in the world”, according to Éditions Albert René.
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