The hunt to find the next Twilight is on, with children's book series The Mortal Instruments being prepped for the big screen by a combination of Unique Features and Constantin. No doubt they noticed one or two similarities between the maaahoosive vampire saga and the tale of 16 year-old Clary Fray and her battles with hordes of vampires, werewolves and assorted other monsters.
While the four books in the series - City Of Bones, City Of Ashes, City Of Glass and City of Fallen Angels - have yet to cross our bedside table, they've been required reading for a far few teenage girls stateside, with the titles appearing on the New York Times bestseller list.
Jessica Postigo, writer of FARC hostage drama Operation Checkmate, is penning a script based on the first three novels. Set in New York, they follow Clary's quest to find her missing mother, battle aforementioned demonic hordes and generally stay alive, all while making eyes at hunky teen shadowhunter Jace Wayland. We're thinking 'Twi-hard with a Vengeance' with a touch of the Spiderwick Chronicles.
It's heady stuff, made headier still by the involvement of Unique Features big guns Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. Lest we forget, this was the pairing that set up the stratospherically successful New Line Cinema, while Shaye is the man who took a punt on Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings pitch when the rest of Hollywood was cold on it. It's safe to say he has an eye for a mega-franchise.