DreamWorks is getting into the tween game, snapping up rights to the young adult bestseller "Shadow and Bone."
David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter films, will produce along with "Up in the Air" producer Jeffrey Clifford.
With "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" heating up the box office, Hollywood has been on the prowl for the next big adolescent literary property to bring to the silver screen. Yet DreamWorks previous attempt to court the teen demographic, 2011's "I Am Number Four," adapted from a popular series of science fiction books, proved disappointing, making less than $150 million worldwide on a $50-million budget.
The studio clearly thinks it has a better chance with getting filmgoers to fill seats for "Shadow and Bone," the story of a young woman blessed with magical powers. It falls to her to rescue her futuristic kingdom from a creature that wields a dark power.
The young adult fantasy by Leigh Bardugo was published in June 2012 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
