Justin Kurzel to direct 'The Narrow Road To The Deep North' adaptation for Freemantle

"Assassin's Creed" director Justin Kurzel will helm the series adaptation Richard Flanagan's critically-acclaimed novel "The Narrow Road To The Deep North".

Published in 2013, the book is set against the backdrop of the horrific Burma Railway in 1943 and across the Pacific during World War II.

It chronicles the cruelty of war, the tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love, as seen through the eyes of an Australian doctor and a prisoner of war.

Shaun Grant, who collaborated with the Australian filmmaker on 2011's "Snowtown" and upcoming "True History of the Kelly Gang", will adapt the script from the book.

The limited series will be produced by Fremantle Australia's Jo Porter.

"I feel extremely honoured to be trusted by Richard Flanagan to bring to life this complete masterpiece of a novel. I am so excited to be collaborating again with Shaun Grant and can't wait to work with the Fremantle team in creating such an epic and incredibly powerful story," Kurzel said in a statement.

Grant said, "Having read Richard Flanagan's 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' several years ago, and being moved beyond words, I am excited to adapt his sublime novel for the screen. My grandfather was a Prisoner of War, who worked the Thai-Burma railway, hence this project is very dear to my heart."