Garland wrote the script for the film, which will be directed by his wife, Paloma Baeza.


TriStar Pictures has landed The Toymaker’s Secret, the latest project from Alex Garland, the sought-after filmmaker behind Annihilation and Ex Machina.


Garland wrote the script but is not attached to direct the pic. Instead, helming duties will go to Paloma Baeza, a BAFTA and Annie Award winner who directed the animated short Poles Apart. She is also Garland’s wife.


The Toymaker’s Secret is a CG/live-action fantasy about children’s toys brought to life by a toymaker in Victorian England and who have been living in secret in the same house until present day. When a new single mother and daughter move into the home, the duo find their world upended. The project has been described as having a similar whimsical tone as The Princess Bride.


Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Cara Speller will produce. Hannah Minghella and Nicole Brown will oversee the project for TriStar.