Deadline reports that Ridley Scott‘s production company Scott Free has optioned the feature film rights to author Ragnar Jónasson’s thriller novel Outside – which won’t be published until June 28th in the US, but you can pre-order a copy at THIS LINK. Commercial director Henrik Hansen, who has worked for Scott’s global commercial production company RSA Films, is in negotiations to make this his feature directorial debut. Hansen also previously worked as the second unit director on Bad Boys for Life.

According to Deadline, the film version of Outside will tell the story of

four friends seeking shelter in a small abandoned hunting lodge during a deadly Icelandic storm. Miles from help, and knowing they will die outside in the cold, they break open the lock and make their way inside, hoping to wait out the storm until morning. But nothing can prepare them for what they find behind the door.

The novel has the following description:

Four friends. One night. Not everyone will come out alive… When a deadly snowstorm strikes the Icelandic highlands, four friends seek shelter in a small, abandoned hunting lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere and there’s no way of communicating with the outside world. They are isolated, but they are not alone… As the night darkens, and fears intensify, an old tragedy gradually surfaces – one that forever changed the course of their friendship. Those dark memories could hold the key to the mystery the friends now find themselves in. And whether they will survive until morning…

This sounds very interesting to me. I’m curious to find out what the threat will be, other than the snowstorm.

Jónasson had this to say about the film adaptation of Outside:

Working with Ridley Scott, one of the great visionaries of cinema, is an immense honor. I am very much looking forward to the adventure of bringing Outside to the screen with the teams at Scott Free and Truenorth.”

Scott is producing Outside with Tom Moran and Vera Meyer of Scott Free Productions, as well as Leifur Dagfinnsson and Kristinn Thordarson of Truenorth Productions.

How does this sound to you? Have you read any other Ragnar Jónasson novels? Let us know by leaving a comment below.