With the success of horror pic Mama, which he adapted from his own short, Andy Muschietti is now a hot property in Hollywood. Universal in particular seems keen to keep working with him, even if he’s not that interested in a sequel to the chiller. He is now in negotiations to helm post-apocalyptic adaptation Bird Box for the studio.

Despite the title, it will not in fact be a big-budget overhaul of Springwatch in which Bill Oddie fights the zombie menace with the help of Kitten Kong.

It's actually based on an upcoming book by rocker-turned-writer Josh Malerman, which follows a woman and two children who are blindfolded and sent down a river in a seemingly dark future. Comparisons have already been drawn to Children Of Men, which bodes well even if it’s far too early to tell. The book won’t even hit stores until next year.

Muschietti still has to make a deal and the studio is looking for writers to bring the project to life. We’d expect the director to land several other projects in the meantime. If he follows the example of Mama producer Guillermo del Toro, it could be several hundred projects, so watch this space for more.