Helmer Daniel Espinosa eyes child serial killer adaptation Child 44 for Summit/Lionsgate

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Serial killers are pretty vicious characters. You need to have some real darkness inside of you to be a serial killer. Now a child serial killer… that’s on a whole other level. There’s a special spot in Hell reserved for those sick bastards.

Sick bastards like Ukrainian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo aka the ‘Rostov Ripper.’ You see Summit and Lionsgate are moving forward on a novel by Tom Rob Smith about Mr. Chikatilo called CHILD 44. Apparently they want to get this thing rolling fast because according to Deadline New York they’re already eying helmer Daniel Espinosa to direct this little diddy based on an adapted script by Richard Price. Sounds good to me.

The central figure is Leo Demidov, a disgraced lawman in Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, who is assigned to investigate a series of gruesome child murders. The book is based on the Rostov Ripper, the Ukrainian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was executed for 52 murders and was enabled by the institutional denial that existed in Soviet political culture at the time.

While plans are to roll CHILD 44 into production early next year, word has it the thing isn’t even green lit yet so there’s no telling when or if this one will even get underway.

CHILD 44 was actually first acquired over at Fox with Ridley Scott in line to direct. Now while the project has since left Fox, Scott is still on board as producer through his Scott Free banner.

So what do you guys think? CHILD 44 sounding solid or do you think you’ll pass on this one? Spit some bullets below and let us know if you’re jiving with CHILD 44 as we wait for more updates on the project.