Netflix Developing End-Of-The-World Movie ‘Dawn’ Based On Neal Shusterman Story
Jun 22, 2025
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From Deadline By Matt Grobar
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is in early development on Dawn, an end-of-the-world film based on a short story by Neal Shusterman, which will be adapted for the screen by A Minecraft Movie‘s Neil Widener and Gavin James.
While a logline wasn’t disclosed, sources described this as a story involving a family’s effort to survive amid solar flares that begin destroying planet Earth. Dylan Clark Productions will produce, after teaming with Netflix on Carry-On and Bird Box — two of the streamer’s most popular films of all time — with Underground exec producing.
Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 books including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award; Courage to Dream, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book; Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; the Unwind Dystology, which won more than 30 domestic and international awards; as well as Dry and Roxy, which he co-wrote with his son, Jarrod. For his body of work, he won the 2024 Margaret A. Edwards Award, along with the ALAN Lifetime Achievement Award. Many of his novels are currently in development for film and television at the likes of Paramount and Universal.
Widener & James were two of the writers on WB/Legendary’s smash A Minecraft Movie, which opened to a record-breaking $163M, making it the biggest video-game adaptation of all time. On the heels of that, they sold an original feature pitch entitled Fortune, in a competitive situation, to Skydance with Jerry Bruckheimer producing and Alan Ritchson to star. Currently, the duo is also adapting beloved video game franchise Jak & Daxter for Sony/PlayStation with Ruben Fleischer attached to direct.
Shusterman is repped by Underground, Independent Artist Group, and RLG. Widener & James are repped by Untitled, CAA, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett Kole.
This announcement about Netflix developing Dawn really caught my attention, especially knowing it comes from a Neal Shusterman story and leans into survival during a global crisis. I like how reading updates like this feels like a mental break from everyday stuff like help with algebra class while still sparking big ideas about family, resilience, and what matters when everything falls apart. Pairing Shusterman’s depth with the writers from A Minecraft Movie makes this one feel quietly promising.
his adaptation sounds exciting—Netflix has been doing well with high-concept stories, and Dawn seems perfect for a tense, end-of-the-world atmosphere. Between intense narratives like this, I sometimes unwind with quick games such as Slice Master which is a nice contrast to heavy themes.
This is the hot news! They are adapting Jak & Daxter for Sony/PlayStation? That's a "beloved video game franchise"! And with Ruben Fleischer directing, too. I'm as excited as when I hear there's a new Friday Night Funkin mod dropping!
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