Taika Waititi to direct Klara and the Sun

Taika Waititi is set to direct 'Klara and the Sun'.

The 47-year-old filmmaker is in talks to helm the movie based on the story by Japanese-British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro for Sony's 3000 Pictures.

The tale follows Klara, a robot girl created to prevent teenagers from getting lonely, who tries to save a family of humans that she lives with from heartbreak.

The book earned positive reviews and was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021.

Dahvi Waller is adapting the script for the film and Ishiguro will serve as an executive producer on the project.

The writer's work has been adapted for the big screen before as his 1989 novel 'The Remains of the Day' was made into an Oscar-nominated picture of the same name starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Emma Thompson four years later.

Waititi's upcoming movie 'Next Goal Wins' is set to be released later this year and he admits that the film had personal resonance.

The flick is an adaptation of the documentary about the American Samoa international football team – widely considered to be the weakest team in the world – and Taika could relate to the story through his upbringing in Polynesia.

In an interview with Empire magazine, he said: "It's the ultimate underdog story.

"It taking place in Polynesia is very important to me, because it's my people. We stick together. It was like seeing myself up there, seeing my family up there, when I saw that documentary, which is so perfect in many ways.

"And to have broader audiences have access to that story was one of my main goals. To bring our backyard to people, and to put brown faces on screen was a big deal for me. I just loved it."