William Golding’s 1954 novel Lord of the Flies is an iconic work of fiction. Taught in schools around the world, it’s a piercing examination of humanity, civilisation, gang mentality and masculinity – and has been turned into a film not once but twice.

Now, two male filmmakers are turning the book into a movie with an all-female cast – and social media has erupted in scorn.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel have signed a deal with Warner Bros to write and direct a new film version of Lord of the Flies, according to Deadline. Their film will differ from the two previous screen adaptations of the book (from 1963 and 1990) in that all of the young students stranded on a desert island will be girls.

“We want to do a very faithful but contemporised adaptation of the book, but our idea was to do it with all girls rather than boys,” Siegel said.

He described Lord of the Flies as “a timeless story that is especially relevant today, with the interpersonal conflicts and bullying, and the idea of children forming a society and replicating the behaviour they saw in grownups before they were marooned”.

People really aren’t happy about that all-female Lord of the Flies remake