Ashleigh Powell to Adapt YA Fantasy Novel 'The Hazel Wood' for Columbia Pictures (Exclusive)

Ashleigh Powell has signed on to adapt the YA fantasy novel “The Hazel Wood” for Columbia Pictures, TheWrap has exclusively learned.

Powell previously wrote “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” for Disney.

Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher (“Divergent,” “The Great Gatsby”) at Red Wagon are producing. VP Lucas Wiesendanger is overseeing for Red Wagon.

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“The Hazel Wood,” a novel written by Melissa Albert, has been on the NY Times Young Adult Bestseller list for seven weeks and is currently at Number five. Flatiron Books publishes in the U.S. and the book is available in 20 additional foreign territories.

“The Hazel Wood” is a grounded YA fantasy novel that reads as “Pan’s Labyrinth” meets “Alice in Wonderland.” Opening in modern day, the story follows teenage Alice, who lives a life on the road with her mother, incessantly pursued by bad luck. Alice’s mother has always forbidden her from having any contact with her grandmother — even banning Alice from reading her grandmother’s mysterious classic book of pitch black fairy tales, “Tales from the Hinterland.” But when Alice’s mother is kidnapped, Alice discovers that the Hinterland is not just a story, and that its strange supernatural forces lie behind her mother’s disappearance. To save her mother, Alice must journey into the Hinterland where she discovers how her own story went so wrong.

Sony Pictures previously pre-emptively acquired rights to the book, which was a hot title at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

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Lauren Abrahams, Columbia Pictures SVP of Production is overseeing.

Powell is repped by The Gersh Agency, manager is Daniel Vang at Good Fear, attorney is Eric Feig.

'Deadpool 2': 12 Cool Things We Spotted in That Killer Trailer (Photos)

Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson in the upcoming "Deadpool 2" and the final trailer delivered the goods. Here are 12 takeaways.
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1. Dopinder the Cab Driver Returns

The trailer kicks off with Dopinder in his taxi singing along to Air Supply's "All Out Of Love" as Deadpool crashes through the rear-passenger window on the run from a gang.
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2. Wade rocks spiked red heels

Deadpool knows how to color coordinate as he dispenses bad guys in spiked red heels that would make Christian Louboutin jealous. What's even more impressive is Wade's ability to backflip and land firmly in those heels.
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3. Wade and Vanessa are still happily together

Morena Baccarin returns as Vanessa Carlysle and by the looks of the trailer, the couple are still going strong. "Kiss me like you miss me Red," she says.
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4. Cable's mission revealed

Nathan Summers, aka Cable, appears from the future on an assassination mission. The kicker is that Cable is trying to assassinate a child. "I'm here for the kid," says Cable. "Move or die!"
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5. Cable's target has mutant powers

The MacGuffin/kid who Cable is after (played by Julian Dennison) is no ordinary kid and appears to have mutant powers and a really bad attitude. On brand for a "Deadpool" film.
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6. Deadpool spends time at the X-Mansion and sits in Professor Xavier's chair

In a blink-and-you-missed-it moment, Wade gives Charles Xavier's famous chair a spin inside the X-mansion.
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7. Domino in action

The trailer finally gives us a good look at Zazie Beetz as Domino, kicking all sorts of ass with a side of sarcasm. "God I wish I finished college," she says.
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8. Terry Crews' role revealed: He's playing Bedlam

At the trailer's 01:33 mark, Crews is shown taking out a bad guy and we get a quick peek at his costume, which is nearly identical to the costume Bedlam wears in the Marvel comic books.
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9. Deadpool forms the X-Force

"We're going to form a super duper f---ing group," says Deadpool. "We need them tough, orally flexible, and young enough to carry their own franchise for ten to twelve years. You'll be known as 'X-Force."
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10. Is that a "Black Panther" Wakanda Forever reference?

The moment when Deadpool announces the formation of "X-Force," Wade crosses his arms just like the Wakandans do in "Black Panther" when they salute each other.
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11. Shiolo Kutsana is playing mutant Surge

According to the keen eyes over at Inverse, "Based on the footage, we can deduce that Shioli Kutsuna is playing Surge, a mutant capable of manipulating electricity."
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12. Rob Delaney is playing Peter Wisdom

According to Screenrant, "In the comics, Pete Wisdom is a British Secret Service agent (frequently associated with the agency MI-13) as well as a mutant who can create energy-based blades with his fingers, using them as projectiles."
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