If you've seen the film adaptation of Artemis Fowl, there's a good chance that you were surprised about one major change from the books. Interestingly, the movie played out differently from what happens in Eoin Colfer's books. However, director Kenneth Branagh has an interesting explanation of why he chose to portray the young protagonist in a certain way.
In the novels, Artemis is always depicted as a tiny supervillain in the making, to the point that he is likened to a future James Bond baddie. However, the movie somehow turned the character into what could be a possible hero instead. Branagh explained to Slash Film that this was a conscious change.
"It was a decision based on a sort of inverse take on what I saw in the books, which was Eoin introducing Artemis gathering a sense of morality across the books. He said that he had him preformed as an 11-year-old Bond villain. It seemed to me that for the audiences who were not familiar with the books, this would be a hard, a hard kind of thing to accept," Branagh said. He then continued by stating that he wanted audiences to see a different side of Artemis.
"I wanted us to find the humanity inside the character, before going on a journey which might be the opposite to the books but sort of integral in the sense of what I was looking for, which was a journey that maybe took our Artemis which he arrives at the end of the movie ready to go to the dark side," Branagh said.
Personally, it's a surprising change considering that book readers are expecting Artemis to act in a certain way. Although it's refreshing to know that Branagh wanted to give the character a more positive future, it may have only led to fans being alienated and that's why Artemis Fowl is getting mixed reviews.
Artemis Fowl is currently available for streaming on Disney+.
Related: Artemis Fowl Actor Josh Gad has Heartwarming Reaction to Judi Dench's Compliment
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