Home / Arts and Entertainment / Warner Bros. Secures Rights to AI Novel
Warner Bros. Secures Rights to AI Novel
20 Mar
Summary
- Warner Bros. acquired film rights to Richard Powers' novel 'Playground'.
- Timothée Chalamet is attached to produce and may star.
- The novel explores AI, love, and friendship across diverse settings.

Warner Bros. Pictures has secured the film rights to Richard Powers' acclaimed novel, 'Playground.' The deal brings the New York Times bestseller to the big screen, with Plan B, Timothée Chalamet, and Brian Swardstrom attached as producers. Chalamet also has the first option to star as the novel's central character.
'Playground' chronicles the journey of Todd Keane and his friends from the University of Illinois through the Silicon Valley tech boom and to the island of Makatea. The narrative intricately weaves together themes of love, friendship, and the accelerating progress of artificial intelligence.
This acquisition follows Warner Bros.' success with recent Oscar winners. The studio is also anticipating the release of 'Dune: Part III' on December 18, 2026, starring Chalamet. Author Richard Powers is a celebrated figure, a MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award recipient, whose novel 'The Overstory' earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.




