Per Deadline, Danya Taymor is reported to have been tapped as the director for the film adaptation of John Proctor is the Villain.
Taymor helmed the original Broadway production of the play, earning a Tony nomination. The film has been optioned by Universal, with original playwright Kimberly Belflower writing the screenplay adaptation, as previously reported.
Tina Fey and Eric Gurian will produce through their Universal-based Little Stranger, Inc, with Marc Platt, Adam Siegel and Jared LeBoff producing through Marc Platt Productions. Sadie Sink, who earned a Tony nomination for her performance in the original Broadway run, will executive produce.
The play is set in a Georgia high school, where a group of teenagers are studying The Crucible. When a #MeToo scandal breaks out at their school, it forces the girls in the classroom to reevaluate what they've been taught, and leads to some feminist awakenings.
The play was nominated for seven 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Direction of a Play, Lighting Design of a Play, Sound Design of a Play, and three performance categories, including Leading Actress in a Play for Sink, Featured Actor in a Play for Gabriel Ebert, and Featured Actress in a Play for Fina Strazza.
The work was commissioned by The Farm Theater in 2017. Following workshops at Farm Theater and Ojai Playwrights Conference, the play premiered at Centre College in 2018, and has since been produced at Furman University, Rollins College, Washington D.C.'s Studio Theatre, and Boston's Huntington.
