JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN To Receive Film Adaptation
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Hollywood is entering the coven. Kimberly Belflower will adapt her hit play John Proctor is the Villain for the big screen. Tina Fey and Marc Platt will serve as producers, Sadie Sink — who was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Shelby in the play — will executive produce. Universal picked up the film rights to the play in a competitive battle, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
John Proctor is the Villain tells the story of a group of young women in a small-town Georgia High School trying to start a feminist club in 2018 — the height of the #MeToo movement. They’re studying Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in their junior year honors English class with their dream teacher, Carter Smith. The women grapple with their relationships with each other, but also with the men of their small community. It’s a critical examination of sex, power, and female rage.
The play has been a hit this Broadway season; it has particularly resonated with young women and Gen. Z. It received seven 2025 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play.
“There’s a moment in the play featuring a song by Lorde that elicited in me a dizzy gasp, then an eye-roll, then gave way to a moment of catharsis. In one gesture, it brilliantly tied up the play’s themes, aesthetics and narratives in a genuinely thrilling way, while getting me to consider a long-beloved favorite in a new light. John Proctor Is the Villain is much like that: a heady rush of glee, shock and understanding that takes you by surprise, and leaves you happy you came,” wrote Theatrely critic Juan A. Ramirez in April.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fey and Eric Gurian will produce through their Universal-based Little Stranger, Inc. Platt will produce with Adam Siegel and Jared LeBoff via his Uni-based Marc Platt Productions. Svp production development and special projects Britt Hennemuth will oversee the project for the studio.
More details will be announced.
