Written by Kayla Olson, The Sandcastle Empire takes place in a not-so distant future (the year 2049) and focuses on a girl named Eden. With Earth straining from the effects of climate change, overpopulation, and extreme flooding, a radical group called the Wolfpack takes advantage of the chaos and manages to overthrow the existing government. Eden is stuck in a labor camp, but she finds a way to escape. As she heads to an island with three other girls, she’ll learn more about her missing father and realize that she might be able to destroy the Wolfpack.
DiCaprio will produce alongside his Appian Way partner, Jennifer Davisson, who is also working with him on a film about the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Both films are among the many environment-centric projects the actor has worked on, from executive producing the documentary Cowspiracy to creating, producing, and narrating The 11th Hour.
The Sandcastle Empire is certainly a different approach to tackling climate change than the documentaries that DiCaprio has worked on in the past. It will be interesting to see how the producers and the rest of the team differentiate the film from the dystopian young adult (often termed YA) films that have become so common over the last several years, including notable series like The Hunger Games and Divergent, both of which are also based on YA novels.
A release date has not yet been announced for The Sandcastle Empire.
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