Coraline director set to make another film adaptation of a Neil Gaiman work described as “almost a sequel” to that cult classic

Coraline director Henry Selick is looking to give Neil Gaiman’s novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane a stop-motion adaptation.

“Instead of a child going to this other world with a monstrous mother, it’s a monstrous mother who comes into our world to wreak havoc on a kid’s life,” Selick told Variety, describing the novel as an “almost sequel” to Coraline. The filmmaker is reportedly now shopping the project around “with a honed 35-page treatment and scores of artwork and concept designs.” 

The 2013 novel sees an unnamed protagonist return to his hometown for a funeral and begin recounting events that occurred some 40 years earlier. An illustrated version of the book was published in 2019. A play adaptation opened the same year on London’s West End, and reopened for a limited run in 2023.

The news comes ahead of Coraline’s special 15th-anniversary re-release, in which UK residents can see a remastered 3D or 2D version in theaters this August. Selick directed the pic, an adaptation of Gaiman’s novella of the same name, in 2009. The movie follows an 11-year-old named Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who discovers an alternate universe behind a secret door in her new home. (It gave me nightmares about buttons and sewing needles for years.)

Coraline will return to UK cinemas for a limited engagement on August 15. For non-UK residents, the movie is streaming now on Prime Video. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond.