Chloe Zhao directing Hamnet adaptation

Chloe Zhao is to direct 'Hamnet'.

The Oscar-winning director will helm an adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel and is adapting the script alongside the author.

The best-selling historical fictional novel imagines the story of Agnes – the wife of the world's most famous writer, William Shakespeare – as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son Hamnet.

The story charts the emotional, familial and artistic consequences of the loss and brings to life a human and heart-stopping tale as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare's most famous play, 'Hamlet'.

It is not known whether 'Hamnet' will be Chloe's next project as she is developing a number of films following the success of 'Nomadland', which dominated the Academy Awards in 2021.

Her most recent movie was the Marvel blockbuster 'Eternals' but she opted to take a break afterwards as she looked for her next picture.

'Eternals' was met with a mixed response by critics but Chloe accepts that the project was never going to impress everybody.

The 41-year-old filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter: "When you're in Marvel and when you're dealing with an audience that big, I truly treasure and respect that each of us is so unique. It's exciting that we're all so different, and we're all changing and growing every day.

"But with a global audience, it's almost impossible to make everybody perfectly happy, and to do that is to say that everyone is the same."

Chloe added: "So I think there's inevitably going to be that (difference of opinion), and you just have to stay true to the kind of film you want to make and who you are and the people you're collaborating with.

"That's all you can do, really, and have a good time. Everything else is out of your control."