Not content with blending Jane Austen’s style of brooding romance with brain-chomping zomboids or re-envisioning US president Abraham Lincoln as a staunch warrior against the vampire menace, Seth Grahame-Smith is at it again, this time taking the birth of Jesus and, more specifically the Three Kings, in a new direction for Holy Night, which Warners has just snapped up.

The book, which is set to hit shelves in April, takes the story of the three wise men and re-imagines them as thieves on the run who end up helping Mary and Jesus to flee Egypt. Along the way, they meet people such as Pontius Pilate and John The Baptist and, because the man can clearly not stay away from the monster stories, battle “magical Biblical creatures.” Yeah, we can’t forsee anyone having a problem with using Jesus and family in that way. You can already hear the protests in your mind, can't you?

Warners threw down $2 million to nab the rights, which includes Grahame-Smith writing the screenplay and producing via the KatzSmith production company he recently formed with David Katzenberg.

Smith is also behind the script for next year’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (due in August) and Tim Burton’s latest Johnny Depp joint, Dark Shadows (that one arrives in May). He’s also been busy creating TV shows and buying up the rights to a few books he didn’t write, including young adult novel The Scorpio Races.