LAIKA Teams with Captain Marvel Directors for Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere

LAIKA's live-action division is making bold new strides in cinematic storytelling with its latest project: a feature film adaptation of "Atmosphere", the highly anticipated novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid. The announcement was made today by Matt Levin, President of Live Action Film & Series at LAIKA.

Directing and adapting the screenplay will be the acclaimed filmmaker duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, whose dynamic portfolio includes the billion-dollar Marvel blockbuster Captain Marvel as well as the 2024 Sundance debut Freaky Tales and the Emmy®-winning series Mrs. America. Their deep-rooted storytelling sensibilities, often centered around nuanced, character-driven drama, make them an ideal fit for Reid's newest venture into historical fiction and romantic drama.

Set for publication on June 3, 2025, by Ballantine Books, "Atmosphere" is described as a sweeping and emotional love story between two pioneering female astronauts in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These fictional women are set against a vividly rendered, historically accurate backdrop of NASA's early space shuttle program. The narrative echoes the emotional and cinematic spirit of acclaimed films like "Apollo 13", "The Right Stuff", and "Gravity", portraying the immense personal and physical challenges of space exploration while delving into themes of love, identity, and ambition.

"Atmosphere" is being produced by LAIKA in association with Circle M+P. The producing team includes Travis Knight, Matt Levin, Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Brad Mendelsohn. Jeremy Kipp Walker joins the team as executive producer.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Levin said, "We couldn't be more excited to team up with three boundary-pushing creative voices on this very special film. From books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid always captivates us with rich, emotionally complex characters, and she is in peak form with Atmosphere. There are no better filmmakers to adapt Taylor's story for the screen than Ryan and Anna, who throughout their amazing careers have crafted deeply human stories set against canvases of stunning cinematic spectacle. We can't wait to see them bring Taylor's world of Atmosphere to life."

Reid, who was recently featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, has built a literary empire with emotionally resonant novels that have captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. Her previous works include "Daisy Jones & The Six", which was adapted into an Emmy-winning Prime Video series; "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"; "Malibu Rising"; "Carrie Soto is Back"; "One True Loves"; and more. Her novels are frequent selections for Reese's Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, and Book of the Month, with several titles now in various stages of screen adaptation.

The film also marks another milestone for directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, whose career began in independent cinema and documentary film before expanding into major studio tentpoles. The pair made their directorial debut with "Half Nelson" (2006), which earned Ryan Gosling an Academy Award nomination and won accolades including Movie of the Year at the AFI Awards and multiple Spirit and Gotham Award nominations. They followed that with "Sugar", a sports drama praised for its introspective approach and nominated for Best Screenplay at the Spirit Awards.

Boden and Fleck continued to build on their success with films like "It's Kind of a Funny Story", "Mississippi Grind", and the blockbuster Captain Marvel. On television, they brought their talents to the critically acclaimed FX series "Mrs. America", which starred Cate Blanchett and earned an Emmy win. They also recently contributed to Apple TV+'s "Masters of the Air", executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and are directing and executive producing the upcoming series Criminal for Amazon Studios.