Millie Bobby Brown Is Adapting Her Own Debut Novel Into a Netflix Movie
Eleven is developing an adaptation of her own “Nineteen Steps.”
“Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown is turning her debut novel into a Netflix feature film. Deadline first reported the news.
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Brown will produce the movie under her PCMA banner and aims to star. “The Theory of Everything” writer Anthony McCarten will adapt the novel into a screenplay. Jonathan Eirich will produce for Rideback and Nick Reynolds will executive produce.
When reached, Netflix declined comment to IndieWire.
“Nineteen Steps” is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller; the novel was published by William Morrow in September 2023. The book (and soon to be film) draws on the experiences of Brown’s grandmother during World War II.
The story of “Nineteen Steps” follows Nellie Morris, an 18-year-old girl living in East London’s Bethnal Green neighborhood. Nellie must navigate the challenges of wartime life — bombings, rationing, and the emotional toll of being away from loved ones — while beginning a new romance with an American airman named Ray. The book’s main (historical) conflict is the Bethnal Green Tube disaster, in which 173 people were killed seeking shelter during an air raid. The Bethnal Green underground station has 19 steps leading to the tube.
Brown, who wrote the book with Kathleen McGurl, broke out on Netflix’s biggest TV franchise, “Stranger Things.” She’s been loyal to the streamer, doing a pair of “Enola Holmes” films (2020 and 2022) there, as well as “Damsel” (2024).
The “Enola Holmes” features are also based on novels, with Brown being instrumental in the respective adaptations. According to Total Film (via GamesRadar) in 2022, Brown at age 13 approached “Enola Holmes” author Nancy Springer to secure the rights to the novels for her family’s PCMA Productions to develop. She produced both features.
As for “Damsel,” the action flick is Netflix’s seventh most-watched film ever, in any language, with 138 million views tallied over its first 91 days of availability.
Brown’s Netflix stardom is no surprise: “Stranger Things” has two seasons, “Stranger Things” 4 (number 2) and “Stranger Things 3” (number 9) on Netflix’s Top 10 (English-language) all-time list. Seasons 1 and 2 of “Stranger Things” preceded Netflix’s pivot to making public (some of) its viewership. “Stranger Things” will end with a fifth season in 2025. Prediction: it too will be a massive hit.
On “Stranger Things,” Brown plays Eleven, one of the show’s main protagonists. With psychokinetic abilities, she is definitely its most powerful one. These days, El just wants to be a normal teenager — not gonna happen in Hawkins.
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