Joseph Cross to Direct Movie Adaptation of Louise Candlish’s Novel ‘The Other Passenger’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Louise Candlish’s best-selling novel “The Other Passenger” is getting the feature film treatment.

Actor-turned-director Joseph Cross has nabbed film rights and plans to direct the movie adaptation. Cross will also produce the film through his company, Moving Image Productions, alongside Lucas Evans. No actors are attached yet.

Candlish’s book, which is a hit in the U.K., will be published in the United States in July 2021 by Simon & Schuster. The logline for the book reads: “Rocked by a traumatic incident on the commuter train, Jamie travels to work by river bus with his younger neighbor Kit. It’s the lifestyle change he badly needs — until the morning Kit doesn’t show up for the boat and Jamie is met at his stop by the police. Kit’s wife Melia has reported him missing and the police say another passenger saw Kit and Jamie arguing on the boat home the night before. They say Jamie has a reason to want his friend dead. Jamie protests. Who is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about his life? No, whatever danger followed him home last night, he is innocent, totally innocent. Isn’t he?”

Cross praised Candlish’s latest as “perfectly-paced,” adding that it “breaks new ground in its timely exploration of generational inequity, and scintillates in its backdrop of coveted, upscale urban real estate.”

“It is an honor to be entrusted with Louise’s brilliant, dark, twisty, suspenseful and utterly disturbing new novel,” Cross said in a statement. “Her characters are meticulously crafted so as to be entirely relatable, which makes the novel’s cataclysmic finale all the more affecting. I am very much looking forward to our collaboration.”

Candlish has written 14 novels, including “Our House.”

“I’m overjoyed that Joseph is developing ‘The Other Passenger’ for the screen,” she said. “I know he will do a spectacular job. The moment we began discussing the project, it was clear we share a passion for the classic noir aspects of the plot, as well as a fascination with the brutal generational conflict at the heart of the story.”

Cross got his start as a child actor in “Wide Awake” and “Jack Frost,” later acting in movies like “Milk” and “Lincoln.” He will appear next in David Fincher’s “Mank” and is currently filming Paul Thomas Anderson’s next movie. Cross made his directorial debut with the 2019 coming-of-age drama “Summer Night.”

Candlish is represented by Luke Speed at Curtis Brown Group. Cross is represented by UTA and Mark Gochman at Gochman Law Group.