Livia De Paolis is moving from emojis to Neverland. The writer, director, actress, and producer will follow up “Emoticon ;),” her 2014 feature debut, with an adaptation of Laurie Fox’s “The Lost Girls.” The 2011 novel is a re-imagining of the Peter Pan story from the perspective of women. Deadline broke the news. 

Ellen Burstyn and Emma Thompson are among “The Lost Girls'” supporting cast. In addition to writing and directing the fantasy coming-of-age pic, De Paolis will star.

“The Lost Girls” chronicles “four generations of Darling women as they struggle in the aftermath of their adventures with Peter Pan in Neverland,” according to the source. “The film will follow how Wendy (De Paolis) struggles to retain her creative spirit after her fantastical journeys with Pan. Like her grandmother (Burstyn) and her mother Jane (Thompson in a cameo role), Wendy must escape Pan’s hold on her and the promises he desperately wants her to keep. As her daughter Berry (Gaia Wise) comes into Peter’s orbit, Wendy must fight to save her relationship with her daughter while reconciling her legacy.”

“I have been fascinated with the hidden meanings of fairy tales since childhood, so when I read Laurie Fox’s novel ‘The Lost Girls’ I was immediately on board with the way she reinvents J.M. Barrie’s timeless fairytale for a contemporary audience,” said De Paolis.