Whalefall author Daniel Kraus is adapting yet another one of his books for the big screen — before the first one’s even hit theaters! Deadline reports that Kraus is teaming up with Imagine Entertainment to write a film adaptation of his 2025 novel Angel Down, a horror thriller set during World War I that pushes its characters’ understanding of reality to its limit.
Angel Down, which hit shelves just six months ago, follows “Private Cyril Bagger, who has managed to survive the unspeakable horrors of WWI through his wits and deception, swindling fellow soldiers at every opportunity.” But when he and four other soldiers are given the task of crossing No Man’s Land to retrieve a fallen comrade, they discover not a fellow soldier, but a fallen angel struck down by artillery fire. While the angel might be the key to ending the war, it’s up to the soldiers to avoid succumbing to their own jealousy, greed, and paranoia, lest their lives descend quickly into hell.
“I had a dream experience with Imagine on Whalefall, so when it came to Angel Down, there was only one home I wanted for it,” Kraus told Deadline. This is precisely the sort of script I want to be writing, one that uses deep historical research to excavate a genre-shredding story that goes in wildly unexpected directions. This script goes all-in, and I’m happy to have Imagine going all-in too.”
No director is attached for the Angel Down film yet, but the project is produced by Brian Grazer, Allan Mandelbaum, Valerie Novotny, and Jeb Brody, with Richard Abate and Will Rowbotham executive producing.
“Daniel Kraus is one of the most distinct voices and extraordinary talents we’ve come across in recent memory,” said Mandelbaum. “His ability to blend bold, high-concept genre stories with deeply human characters is second to none, and Angel Down is no exception. All of us at Imagine had an incredible experience working with Daniel to bring Whalefall to life, so we’re thrilled to be collaborating with him again on his outstanding and urgent new novel.”
Angel Down is Kraus’ second time adapting his own prose work for the screen, after co-writing the script for Whalefall with director Brian Duffield. The film stars Austin Abrams as a scuba diver who ends up swallowed alive by a whale while searching for the remains of his father, played by Josh Brolin, alongside Elisabeth Shue, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd. That adaptation is set to hit theaters this October.
Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates on the Angel Down film as they arrive.
