Summary
- James Cameron to direct The Devils movie, based on Joe Abercrombie's novel, known for dark, fantastical tone.
- The Devils follows a team transporting a valuable item in middle-ages Europe, led by a young female pope.
- Cameron's adaptation may focus on character depth and less on plot, aiming for an adult-oriented franchise.
James Cameron is directing the movie tie-in for Joe Abercrombie's book The Devils, which released on May 13, 2025. The book is apparently very good, as it has garnered rave reviews and was snatched up right away by one of Hollywood's premier storytellers. Set in the Middle Ages, it follows a team of monsters who must 'safely' deliver a devilishly valuable item.
Cameron's current project, Avatar: Fire And Ash is set to release at the end of this year on December 19. After that film, James Cameron will begin work on something decidedly less futuristic and family-friendly. In fact, he's looking to go the exact opposite direction, as the source material was described by Forbes, among many others, as a bloody, gothic Suicide Squad.
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What Is The Devils About?
That particular Forbes review claimed the book "doesn't work." Cameron disagrees, telling the Hollywood Reporter:
"I've loved Joe's writing for years [...] But the freshness of the world and the characters in The Devils finally got me off my butt to buy one of his books and partner with him to bring it to the screen."
The Devils' story does indeed sound like a vibrant take on an old MacGuffin plot. James Cameron's meticulous visual touch and extra-large scale tendencies will definitely lend themselves to the action-packed tale.
The Devils, set in an alternate version of Middle Ages Europe, is led by a pope who happens to be a girl — not a woman, a girl — with a female clergy. The girl pope, being rightful heir to her throne, declares another little girl princess of an Eastern empire, whose empress has just died. In order to transport the girl to the east and install her as empress, she must travel with The Devils — magically endowed creatures who have been appointed by the pope to carry out critical tasks.
The team consists of characters such as an old, old vampire who is showing his ancient age physically, an undead immortal war general who sustains his wounds, and an elf, who represents a member of the world's most despised faction. The elf, when she holds her breath, can turn invisible, which is her sole power. Traveling along with them is a necromancer who needs dead bodies around to be of any meaningful assistance.
Reviewers seem to agree that the story shines through its characters and is beautifully written regarding its prose, although it tends to be light on plot. This could be perfect for the visionary Cameron, who can take advantage of these tools using a visual medium.
How Is James Cameron Equipped To Handle The Book?
The Devils is the first of a series, and hopefully means we'll have a more adult-oriented James Cameron franchise on our hands as viewers. Cameron can likely use the light plot of Abercrombie's book to create a two-to-three-hour motion picture with a tight story that doesn't feel like it's trimming too much meat off of the bones.
With Cameron's ability to take advantage of his medium, he can rightfully show, and not tell, when it comes to the book's thorough fleshing out of its characters. Instead of presenting a final product that feels abridged or truncated, Cameron can adapt the page to the screen and hit the deft book's major plot points, setting scenes and conveying emotion with a visually translated version of Abercrombie's voice.
Cameron should be trusted to adapt Abercrombie's work, not only for his decorated pedigree as a filmmaker, but also for his previous works drawing inspiration from books. In fact, Cameron has declared that Avatar was significantly influenced by the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard, writers known for their works of adventure and science fiction. He's no stranger to adapting from the page to the screen.
How Big Of A Departure Will The Devils Be From Avatar 3?
Avatar: Fire And Ash is expected to be a darker film in its own right, though not nearly as dark as The Devils. Avatar 3 is sure to explore the aftermath of a critical death at the end of the second film, which will call for a hefty dose of emotion from Zoe Saldaña's character as she wrestles with grief.
The film's title, Fire and Ash, also indicates a violent, more grave tone than the lush nature of the franchise's first movie, and the oasis atmosphere of the second. James Cameron will coincidentally have been ramping up with Fire and Ash to tackle the hellacious content and subject matter of Abercrombie's The Devils.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is certainly going to be rated PG-13, whereas The Devils likely wouldn't make it past the first chapter's adaption without an R-rating. The Suicide Squad comparison, which has become popular in describing the book, isn't completely accurate. The Devils goes for a resolutely darker and more fantastical tone than the quippy, superpowered DC movie. It might actually be closer spiritually to James Gunn's Creature Commandos, which was dark and unrelenting in its depravity.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- December 19, 2025
- Runtime
- 197 Minutes
- Director
- James Cameron
- Writers
- Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, James Cameron, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
- Cast
- Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Oona Chaplin, Jack Champion, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Bailey Bass, David Thewlis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, Brendan Cowell, Filip Geljo, Matt Gerald, Duane Evans Jr., Jeremy Irwin, Johnny Alexander, Keston John
