Disney Taps Patrick Ness to Adapt Fantasy Novel “DallerGut Dream Department Store” for Live-Action Feature

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Disney’s live-action department is developing a feature film adaptation of the best-selling fantasy novel DallerGut Dream Department Store by South Korean author Mi-ye Lee. Patrick Ness, the screenwriter behind A Monster Calls, has been brought on board to pen the script.

The novel, which serves as the first entry in a trilogy, follows a young woman named Penny who has just landed her dream job selling dreams to customers at the legendary DallerGut Dream Department Store. But when strange and dangerous occurrences begin affecting asleep customers, Penny must uncover the mystery before the nightmare spreads beyond the shop’s doors.

Mi-ye Lee’s novel hit number one on South Korea’s bestseller lists and has sold over two million copies across more than 20 countries worldwide. Jessica Virtue, Senior Vice President of Production at Disney, is overseeing the project.

Patrick Ness, himself a best-selling author across children’s, YA, and adult literature, is no stranger to film adaptations. He previously adapted two of his own works, A Monster Calls and Chaos Walking, for the screen. Focus Features released the 2016 film A Monster Calls, directed by J.A. Bayona and starring Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, and Felicity Jones, with Ness serving as both screenwriter and executive producer. Additionally, Lionsgate tapped Doug Liman to direct the adaptation of the Chaos Walking trilogy starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, which Ness co-wrote alongside Christopher Ford.

Ness’s books have been translated into over 40 languages, and he has won nearly every major award in children’s literature, including two Carnegie Medals, as well as an Olivier Award for the stage adaptation of A Monster Calls. He is also known for creating and writing the eight-part BBC series Class, a spin-off of the hit show Doctor Who.