''Turtles All the Way Down'' is an upcoming American romantic drama film based on the 2017 novel of the same name by

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is ...

. The film is directed by

Hannah Marks Hannah Marks (born April 13, 1993) is an American actress, writer, and director. She played Amanda Brotzman on the television series '' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency''. Early life Hannah Marks was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of R ...

from a screenplay by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker, and stars

Isabela Merced Isabela Yolanda Moner (born July 10, 2001), known professionally as Isabela Merced since 2019, is an American actress and singer. She played the lead role of CJ Martin on the Nickelodeon television series ''100 Things to Do Before High School'' ...

. The story centers on a 16-year-old with

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...

(Merced) who pursues the disappearance of a billionaire. The film was first announced as being in development at

Fox 2000 Pictures Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studio 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...

, who previously produced Green's film adaptations ''

The Fault in Our Stars ''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar'', in which the noble ...

'' (2014) and ''

Paper Towns ''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...

'' (2015), in December 2017, with Berger and Aptaker announced as screenwriters and Marks set to direct it in January 2019. After The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox 2000 Pictures, Disney closed Fox 2000 and put the project into turnaround, until it was eventually acquired by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

. Merced, who had starred in another adaptation of Green's work, ''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...

'' (2019), was announced in February 2022.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in April of the same year in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and ended in June. ''Turtles All the Way Down'' was announced to be released on the streaming service

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

Premise

When a 16-year-old struggling with obsessive–compulsive disorder reconnects with her childhood crush, she confronts the possibility of finding love and happiness in the face of mental illness.

Cast

as Aza Holmes *

Cree Cicchino Cree Cicchino (born May 9, 2002) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress playing one of the lead characters, Babe, in the Nickelodeon comedy television series '' Game Shakers'', which aired from 2015 to 2019. She then went ...

as Daisy Ramirez * Felix Mallard as Davis Pickett * Judy Reyes as Gina Holmes * Maliq Johnson as Mychal Turner *

J. Smith-Cameron Jean Isabel Smith (born September 7, 1957), credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She spent a majority of her career in theatre but began transitioning to film and television later in life. She is known for her suppo ...

as Professor Abbott * Poorna Jagannathan as Dr. Singh *

as Holly

Production

The film was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

upon the publication of the novel in 2017, with Green and Rosianna Halse Rojas as executive producers. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger were announced as screenwriters in May 2018, and

was announced as director in January 2019. However, production was delayed after

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

acquired Fox 2000 Pictures. The project was picked up by

, with distribution rights passing to

. The film is produced by Marty Bowen,

Wyck Godfrey Wyck Godfrey is an American producer and executive. He is best known for producing ''The Twilight Saga'' and ''The Maze Runner'' film series. He is a partner of the production company Temple Hill Entertainment with his friend Marty Bowen, whic ...

, and Isaac Klausner of Temple Hill Entertainment, the production company which produced screen adaptations of Green's previous novels ''

'', ''

'', and ''

Looking for Alaska ''Looking for Alaska'' is American author John Green‘s debut novel, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. Based on his time at Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel as a result of his desire to create meaningful young adult fiction ...

''. The film was announced in March 2022, with Merced in the lead role. Reyes, Cicchino, and Mallard were announced as part of the cast the following month. In May 2022 it was announced that

, Poorna Jagannathan, and Maliq Johnson would also appear in the film. Principal photography began in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, on April 26, 2022.

References

External links

* {{Max (streaming service) Upcoming films 2024 films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films Films about obsessive–compulsive disorder Films based on American novels Films based on works by John Green (author) Films based on young adult literature Films directed by Hannah Marks Films produced by Wyck Godfrey Films shot in Cincinnati HBO Max films New Line Cinema films Temple Hill Entertainment films Upcoming English-language films