Disney Live Action is developing a film adaptation of Miye Lee’s Korean bestseller The Dallergut Dream Department Store, with acclaimed writer Patrick Ness attached to write the screenplay. The project is currently in development, with Disney yet to announce a director, cast, production schedule or release date.
Written by Miye Lee, The Dallergut Dream Department Store is built around a distinctive fantasy premise: a mysterious department store where customers can purchase dreams. The store exists within a world connected to sleep and welcomes both human and animal visitors seeking different kinds of dream experiences. These can range from fantastical adventures to memories and moments that cannot be experienced in ordinary life.
At the centre of the story is Penny, a young woman who gets an opportunity to work at the Dallergut Dream Department Store. Her new job introduces her to the people who create, organise and sell dreams, as well as the customers who visit the store while asleep.
The novel uses Penny’s experiences to explore the different reasons people dream and what those dreams can represent. Rather than being structured purely as a conventional fantasy adventure, the story uses its unusual setting to examine the emotional relationship people have with their dreams.
Patrick Ness is a notable choice to adapt the material, having previously worked on fantasy and speculative-fiction projects for both film and television. Ness wrote the screenplay for the 2016 fantasy film A Monster Calls, based on his own novel, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2021 science-fiction film Chaos Walking, adapted from his Chaos Walking novel. He also created and wrote the television series Class, a Doctor Who spin-off.
The source material also has an international publishing history. The novel was originally published in Korean in 2020 and later reached English-language readers through a translation by Sandy Joosun Lee. Publisher information has described the book as a Korean bestseller with more than one million copies sold, while international rights have been sold in numerous territories.
There is some uncertainty around the size of the literary series. Current industry coverage describes The Dallergut Dream Department Store as the first installment in a three-book story, while previous publisher and book-industry listings have described Miye Lee’s series as a two-book duology. Disney, however, has not announced plans for film sequels, so the confirmed project at this stage is the adaptation of the first novel.
For now, the project remains at an early development stage. Disney has not confirmed who will direct the film or who will star in it, and there is no announced filming schedule or theatrical release date. Patrick Ness’s involvement as screenwriter is the principal creative detail confirmed so far.
The adaptation nevertheless gives Disney a distinctive fantasy property with an established readership and an unusual central concept. Instead of another conventional magical-world story, The Dallergut Dream Department Store offers a setting in which dreams themselves become a form of commerce, while Penny’s journey provides the connection between the people who create those dreams and those who seek them.
As Disney continues developing the project, the next major announcements will likely determine the film’s creative direction, including its director, cast and eventual production timeline. For now, Patrick Ness’s screenplay is the key confirmed step in bringing Miye Lee’s dream-filled world from the page to the screen.
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