Fans of the original books by Eoin Colfer are incensed by the latest film
trailer, which seems confused on the hero’s morality
As chequered histories go, the story of Artemis Fowl’s marathon trek to the big screen is not quite up there with that of Terry Gilliam’s famously long-gestating The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but it is not far removed. First conjured up almost two decades ago under the now largely defunct Miramax studio, it has had to survive the departure of several directors, numerous attempts at a screenplay and the removal of
Harvey Weinstein as producer.
Unfortunately, as the film enters the final strait of its long journey to the multiplex, the news is not getting any better. Finally due out in May, with Kenneth Branagh in the director’s chair and a cast that includes Judi Dench, Colin Farrell and Josh Gad, the movie is now facing almost universal derision from fans of the eight-novel original series of books by
Irish author Eoin Colfer that inspired it.