One of France’s leading players in the film and audiovisual industry UGC and Academy Award-nominated French animation group Xilam Animation are partnering to adapt Bernard Werber’s bestselling novel Empire of the Ants for television. Through this collaboration, the two companies aim to combine the best of their respective expertise to bring to screen this visionary work, which has enthralled readers worldwide for 35 years and sold seven million copies globally, including four million in France.
Targeted at family audiences, the Empire of the Ants series will follow two parallel investigations unfolding simultaneously: in the human world, exploring who killed the brilliant ant expert Edmond Wells; and in the ant world, uncovering the secret that the Queen and her militia are hiding that could threaten the unity of the colony.
The adaptation will be produced using live action for the human narrative, and visual effects for the ant world. The project is being written by Vladimir Haulet (Mixte, Mash Up), with the VFX direction being led by globally renowned specialist in photo-realistic animation Nicolas Deveaux, alongside Quentin Reubrecht (Arcane, I Lost My Body).
“I am thrilled to see Empire of the Ants finally come to life on screen. This adaptation from such creative powerhouses as UGC and Xilam will bring a unique level of ambition to my universe. I look forward to audiences experiencing this work in a new form,” said Werber.
The Empire of the Ants series will be produced by Marc du Pontavice and Caterina Gonnelli for Xilam, and by Franck Calderon and Céline d’Asaro Biondo for UGC.
