Hatchet is becoming a Netflix film
Gary Paulsen’s influential young-adult survival novel Hatchet is officially being adapted for Netflix, bringing Brian Robeson’s fight for survival to a new generation of viewers.
First published in 1987, the novel follows 13-year-old Brian after the pilot of his plane suffers a heart attack over the Canadian wilderness. Brian survives the crash but is left alone, hungry and carrying little more than the clothes he is wearing and a hatchet given to him by his mother.
The film is being written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, whose previous directing credits include Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines and Roofman. Further project details have been reported by Variety.
Who is making the Hatchet adaptation?
Andrew Mittman will produce the film through his company 1.21, which is also behind Netflix’s Wednesday. The production is being developed in partnership with Gary Paulsen’s estate. The estate had kept the book out of the adaptation market until now and helped choose Cianfrance for the project.
Hatchet has only previously been adapted as the 1990 television movie A Cry in the Wind. Mittman reportedly pushed the new film at Netflix after the streamer’s survival movies Apex and Thrash each launched with more than 36 million views during 2026.
What is Hatchet about?
Brian must teach himself how to survive, including finding food, hunting and building a shelter. Away from other people, he also thinks through the difficult relationship between his divorced parents. The story’s physical danger is matched by its focus on a young person gradually developing confidence and practical skills.
The book received a Newbery Honor in 1988 for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”. Its first edition runs to 185 pages, making it a comparatively compact story to translate to the screen.
Paulsen later expanded Brian’s story with four additional novels: The River (1991), Brian’s Winter (1996), Brian’s Return (1999) and Brian’s Hunt (2003). Most continue the character’s journey, while Brian’s Winter explores a “what-if” version of Brian’s original time in the wilderness.
As Netflix revisits a survival story built around isolation, problem-solving and limited resources, readers interested in interactive versions of those themes can browse RETROCADE’s arcade news and features, explore the arcade machine buying guide, or consider a hands-on DIY arcade kit project.
More survival stories are on the way
The adaptation gives Hatchet its first major film treatment while retaining the novel’s straightforward premise: a child, a hostile environment and the need to learn one solution at a time. Netflix has not announced a release date or additional casting in the supplied details.
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