Joe Wright to Direct Film Adaptation of Tim Winton’s Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Juice
Another acclaimed novel is making the journey from page to screen, with two-time BAFTA-winning filmmaker Joe Wright officially attached to direct the feature adaptation of Tim Winton’s ambitious post-apocalyptic thriller, Juice.
According to Deadline, Emmy-winning writer Abi Morgan (Shame, Eric) has been hired to adapt Winton’s novel for Working Title Films, bringing together two of Britain’s most respected storytellers for what promises to be a thought-provoking and emotionally charged science fiction thriller.
Originally published in 2024, Juice quickly attracted critical acclaim and was later longlisted for the Climate Fiction Prize 2026. While firmly rooted in speculative fiction, the novel also explores themes that have long defined Winton’s work, including family, survival, identity and humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
Set centuries after civilisation has been devastated by climate catastrophe, Juice imagines a future where much of the Earth has become uninhabitable. The equatorial regions have been abandoned following extreme heat, mass migrations have sparked generations of conflict, and the remnants of humanity now survive in isolated communities clustered around the planet’s northern and southern extremes.
The story follows a young husband and father who is recruited into a secretive resistance organisation tasked with hunting down the descendants of the wealthy elites blamed for the environmental collapse. When one mission goes disastrously wrong, he finds himself on the run, fighting to survive while questioning everything he has been taught to believe.
Rather than simply delivering another action-driven dystopian adventure, Winton’s novel combines tense survival storytelling with deeply personal drama. Framed largely through a long confession told during a single night, the story gradually reveals the protagonist’s past, his family life, the brutal choices he has made and the moral complexities surrounding the resistance movement he serves.
As the novel unfolds, readers discover a world where corporations such as Amazon and Gazprom have evolved into powerful family dynasties whose descendants continue to live in heavily fortified compounds while ordinary people struggle to survive in an unforgiving landscape. It is a world of scorched plains, abandoned industrial sites, underground shelters and communities held together by stories passed down through generations after society’s collapse.
Despite its bleak setting, Juice has been praised for refusing to paint its characters in simple shades of good and evil. Winton explores difficult questions surrounding justice, revenge, inherited guilt and whether violence can ever truly repair the damage caused by previous generations. The result is a novel that is as interested in human relationships as it is in its post-apocalyptic setting.
The project appears to be a natural fit for Joe Wright.
Throughout his career, Wright has demonstrated an ability to balance intimate character drama with sweeping visual storytelling. From the emotional grandeur of Atonement and Pride & Prejudice to the kinetic action of Hanna, the historical spectacle of Darkest Hour and even his memorable contribution to Black Mirror, Wright has consistently shown a talent for combining striking visuals with deeply human stories.
Speaking about the adaptation, Wright said, “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Tim Winton has entrusted us with his extraordinary epic. The story is both a thrilling modern family saga and an urgent call to action. I cannot wait for audiences to experience it on the big screen.”
Winton also expressed his confidence in the filmmaker, saying, “I’m pleased to know a filmmaker of Joe Wright’s calibre has chosen to adapt Juice for the screen. His capacity to portray the turmoil and the turning points of nations and peoples as well as private individuals distinguishes his work as a director and I’m confident that Juice is in good hands.”
With Abi Morgan adapting the screenplay, Working Title producing and Joe Wright behind the camera, Juice already has an impressive creative team assembled.
Climate fiction has steadily grown in popularity over the past decade, but relatively few adaptations have managed to capture the scale and emotional weight found in the genre’s best novels. If Wright can successfully translate Winton’s haunting vision of environmental collapse, moral ambiguity and human resilience to the screen, Juice could become one of the most compelling science fiction films in development.
For now, no casting or release date has been announced, but with such a strong creative team already attached, this is certainly one adaptation worth keeping a close eye on.
