Dante’s Inferno to become Hollywood romantic drama

A love story set in nine circles of Hell

Dante's Inferno illustration by Gustave Doré (Getty)

Warner Bros has picked up a script based on Dante’s Inferno, which will see the poet travel “through the nine circles of hell to save the woman he loves”.

Taking on the first third of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem, The Divine Comedy, the pitch comes from screenwriter Dwain Worrell, who was behind Iraqi sniper film The Wall.

The 100 canto-long Inferno sees Dante devastated following the death of his beloved Beatrice, meeting Virgil in the woods who promises to lead him through nine circles of hell in the hope of meeting Beatrice in heaven on the other side.

It will be interesting to see where the movie, which according to Deadline has yet to secure a director, goes with this, and if it focuses on the romantic aspect or becomes a CGI-fest a la Darren Aronofsky’s painful Noah epic.

Dante’s Inferno has big screen adaptations going back as far as 1911 and Giuseppe de Liguoro’s silent film, L’Inferno.

Universal also has one in the works right now, though it is based on the video game of the same name that re-imagines Dante as a Templar Knight.

@christophhooton