Dominic Cooke to Direct 'John Daniel', a Film Inspired by a 1918 Friendship With a Baby Gorilla
Dominic Cooke is set to direct John Daniel, a British film based on the true story of an Englishwoman and a baby gorilla in the years after the First World War, Variety reported on 30 October 2026.
Cornerstone has acquired worldwide sales rights to the project ahead of the American Film Market, the film trade fair in Santa Monica, California, where buyers shop for titles. Worldwide sales means Cornerstone will offer the film to distributors in countries around the globe.
The story is set in 1918 in Uley, a village in Gloucestershire, England. It follows Alyce Cunningham, who takes in a baby gorilla rescued from a London department store window. The screenplay is by Alexi Kaye Campbell.
The idea grew out of history. The film was inspired by home movie footage and photographs taken by local people in Uley between 1918 and 1922, according to Variety.
The production is a Genesius Pictures film, made in association with Edward Film Company. Debbie Gray is the producer. The project is in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to begin in the UK in mid-2027.
The gorilla will be created with motion capture, a process that records a performer's movements and turns them into digital animation, followed by visual effects. Axio World will handle the effects, led by Loris Mantello and Maoris Creantor. The aim, as described by Variety, is a gorilla performance that looks photorealistic on screen.
John Daniel is Cooke's third feature as a director, following his 2017 debut On Chesil Beach and The Courier. He has also directed the stage production Game of Thrones: The Mad King.
What makes this project stand out is its starting point. A few minutes of home footage and a set of photographs from one English village have become the basis for a feature film, with a sales deal in place before a single frame is shot. The film's production timeline now runs to mid-2027, when cameras are due to start rolling in the UK.
