Octavia Spencer is in the final negotiations to play God in the adaptation of the bestselling Christian novel The Shack . In the novel God is an African American woman who also goes by the name Elousia . The Shack is a story about a man whose youngest daughter is kidnapped and murdered during a family vacation . Octavia Spencer is in final negotiations to play God in adaptation of bestselling Christian novel The Shack . The Shack was a surprise self-published hit in 2008 . The police find her bloodied clothes in an abandoned shack , but not her body . Years later the man receives a note telling him to revisit the shack . It is signed by 'Papa ' , his wife 's nickname for God . The Shack was a surprise self-published hit in 2008 , largely thanks to word of mouth , as well as promotion in churches and on Christian radio . The book , by William P. Young , has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 39 different languages , according to Variety . It was also on the top of the New York Times ' Bestseller list for more than 170 weeks . Spencer has been splitting her time between movies and television , most recently appearing on the recently cancelled FOX series Red Band Society , as well as the James Brown biopic Get On Up and Black And White with Kevin Costner . The Academy award-winning actress can next be seen in the Divergent sequel , Insurgent . The Shack is being directed by Stuart Hazeldine .
In the book God is an African American woman also called Elousia . Story is about a man whose youngest daughter is murdered during vacation . Her bloodied clothes are discovered in an abandoned shack . 2008 father receives note from God inviting him to return to the shack . Book became self-published hit in Years later and sold more than 18million copies .