‘Harry Potter’ Producer David Barron Backs AI Adaptation Of ‘The Call Of The Wild’

EXCLUSIVE: David Barron, the British film producer with credits on six Harry Potter films, is entering the generative artificial intelligence space.

Barron has agreed to produce an AI adaptation of Jack London’s 1903 novel The Call of the Wild, which is written and directed by Simon Rumley (Crushed, Red White & Blue).

The film will be generated at nmatic, with CGI and traditional VFX helping deliver more complex scenes. Filmmakers are billing it as the first faithful adaptation of London’s novel because it will be made from Buck’s subjective experience.

“London’s canvass is so epic, the Alaskan geography so gruelling, the dog and wolf fights so visceral that a faithful cinematic adaptation has hitherto been logistically and financially impossible,” said Barron. ”But technology has finally caught up with London’s vision, and we believe now is the time to do justice.”

The Call of the Wild tells the story of a pampered St. Bernard dog, who is torn from his life of privilege in California’s Santa Clara Valley and is sold into the brutal world of the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, where he discovers the wild instinct that has always lurked within.

The film has been adapted for the screen several times, including a 2020 Michael Green film starring Harrison Ford.

David Barron, Mark Sandell (A Liar’s Autobiography) and Nick Price produce. Chris Catchpole, Carl Lyttle, and Toby White head up prompting and technical at nmatic.