Xilam Animation to Adapt Empire of the Ants

Xilam Animation has teamed up with UGC to adapt Bernard Werber’s best-selling novel Empire of the Ants for television.

Targeted at family audiences, the series will follow two parallel investigations unfolding simultaneously: one in the human world, exploring who killed the ant expert Edmond Wells, and one in the ant world, uncovering a secret that the Queen and her militia are hiding. The adaptation will be produced using live action for the human narrative and visual effects for the ant world.

The adaptation is being written by Vladimir Haulet (Mixte, Mash Up), with the VFX direction being led by Nicolas Deveaux, alongside Quentin Reubrecht (Arcane, I Lost My Body). Producers are Marc du Pontavice and Caterina Gonnelli for Xilam and Franck Calderon and Céline d’Asaro Biondo for UGC.

“I am thrilled to see Empire of the Ants finally come to life on screen,” said Werber. “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.”