The Neverending Story is now being adapted into a new movie series… 40 YEARS after smash hit film was released

A new adaptation of the fantasy novel The Neverending Story is now in the works – four decades after it first hit the screen.

The children’s book, written by Michael Ende, was published in the original German in 1979 before being released in English in 1983.

A year after its English publication, the novel was adapted into a major Hollywood film, although it was despised by the book’s author.

The story follows a dim-witted, motherless child who escapes his troubles by reading a book about a magical world called Fantastica, but discovers that he himself has been drawn into the story and must prevent it from repeating itself incessantly.

Now the author’s estate is working on a film franchise with See-Saw Films, a studio whose previous productions include The Power Of The Dog, according to Variety.

The children’s book, written by Michael Ende, was published in the original German in 1979 before being released in English in 1983.

Now the author’s estate is working on a film franchise with See-Saw Films, a studio that produced The Power Of The Dog (photo)

Multiple studios and streamers reportedly courted the estate for the rights before ultimately striking the current deal with See-Saw Films.

Over the years, See-Saw Films has produced critically acclaimed titles such as The King’s Speech, Lion and the TV series Top Of The Lake and State Of The Union.

When The Neverending Story was first published in 1979, it became a galloping bestseller in Germany, spawning translations into more than 40 languages.

Michael Ende’s beloved characters include Bastian, the child at the center of the plot, and the various magical inhabitants of Fantastica.

Among them is the Childlike Empress, who is struck by a mysterious illness just as her empire is threatened by an evil force called The Nothing.

Other notable figures include the brave child soldier Atreyu, the luck dragon Falkor, a werewolf named Gmork, and a shapeshifter named Ygramul The Many.

After the book’s great international success, it was adapted into a Hollywood film by West German director Wolfgang Peterson.

Wolfgang had just returned from the rave reception of his Oscar-nominated World War II film Das Boot, and The NeverEnding Story marked his first project in English.

The 1984 film The NeverEnding Story was directed by West German filmmaker Wolfgang Peterson, fresh off the critical reception of his World War II film Das Boot (pictured)

The film was a triumph at the box office and received a warm response from critics, eventually spawning two sequels; Jason James Richter is depicted in film three

One viewer who was unimpressed by the filming of The NeverEnding Story was Michael Ende, who ripped into ‘that disgusting film’ during a press conference in Stuttgart; pictured 1995

The film was a triumph at the box office and received a warm response from critics, eventually spawning two sequels.

However, one viewer who was unimpressed by the 1984 film was Michael Ende, who blasted “that disgusting film” at a press conference in Stuttgart.

‘The makers of the film simply did not understand the book at all. They just wanted to make money,” the author told the media.

He claimed that he worked on the screenplay ‘as a consultant’, ‘because I wanted a beautiful film’ and ‘trusted’ the filmmakers.

However, he claimed that the script was revised without his approval and that he even had to go to court to see the final draft.

“I saw the final script five days before the premiere and only as a result of a court verdict in Munich,” the novelist said angrily, according to a report in People. ‘I was shocked. They had changed the whole meaning of the story.”