Millie Bobby Brown has just returned to action on Netflix, in the new film The Lady and the Dragon: is it an adaptation of a novel?
After facing the creatures of the upside down world in Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown this time takes on dragons and a royal family for Netflix. The actress plays Elodie in The Maiden and the Dragon, a young noble girl chosen for a political marriage that goes wrong. But the new princess does not intend to wait for a brave knight to get out of trouble, and will face the troubles herself.
The actress is no longer in her first production for the streaming platform, nor in her first action-packed role. But this time, it is in a corset and petticoats that Millie Bobby Brown will move, in a medieval setting worthy of a fairy tale. Except that the tone is set, from the trailer to the posters: no, this is not one of those stories where the princess must rely on someone else to be delivered from the clutches of the monster.
The Lady and the Dragon – or Damsel in the original version – has just landed on Netflix, and subscribers may ask themselves the question: is the film adapted from a novel?
Is the film The Lady and the Dragon a book adaptation?
Yes, The Maiden and the Dragon is related to the novel called Damsel, written by New York Times bestselling author Evelyn Skye.
The writer published her book on April 18, 2023 in the United States, as part of a collaboration between Netflix and the publishing house Random House Worlds. The delay between the release of the novel and that of the film is actually explained by a delay in production of The Lady and the Dragon: the film was initially scheduled to be released in October 2023, but only finally reached the Netflix catalog on the 8th. March 2024.
Except there’s a twist: in fact, the book was first inspired by the film’s screenplay, written by Dan Mazeau!
This is what author Evelyn Skye explained to The Hollywood Reporter: “Dan Mazeau wrote the original screenplay. I was able to read the preliminary draft and was given carte blanche to write my own version of the story, which ultimately became the novel. Although the novel and the film have the same origin, they are each a unique artistic creation.”
The writer goes on to explain that she and the Maiden and the Dragon team then collaborated, each feeding the other’s production with their own ideas. Film and novel are therefore well linked, inspired by each other, but remain independent.
In France, the novel Damsel – The Lady and the Dragon has been translated and available for purchase since March 6. As for the film, it has been broadcast on Netflix since March 8.
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