Yet another literary trilogy has been picked up by a studio for adaptation into a film series even before the first volume has hit bookstore shelves. This time it's CBS Films acquiring rights to Marie Lu'sLegend, whichTwilight Sagaproducers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will produce through their Temple Hill banner.
PerDeadlinethe first book will be published this November by Putnam Children's Books (Penguin Group), and the project was brought in by CBS Films president/CEO Amy Baer and COO Wolfgang Hammer, the latter of whom made this his first preemptive deal since taking that post. Lu will be involved in the scripting stage as an executive producer.
"The character of Day, a roguish teen outlaw on the run, has been in my head since high school,"Lu said."One night I was watching an old-time detective movie when the idea of Day vs. the gifted teen June came to me."
Said Hammer:"This project is a perfect example of theatrical content with enormous digital possibilities."
Here's the full synopsis fromMarie Lu's official site:
The United States is gone, along with its flooded coasts. North America's two warring nations, the western Republic and the eastern Colonies, have reached a breaking point. In the midst of this broken continent and dark new world are two teenagers who will go down in history ....
Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. A mysterious boy with no recorded image or fingerprints. A boy who should no longer exist. A boy who watches over his family until one evening, when the plague patrols mark his family's door with an X--the sign of plague infection. A death sentence for any family too poor to afford the antidote. Desperate, Day has no choice; he must steal it.
Born to an elite family in the wealthy Ruby sector, fifteen-year-old June is the Republic's most promising prodigy. A super-intelligent girl destined for great things in the country's highest military circles. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country--until the day her brother Metias is murdered while on patrol during a break-in at the plague hospital.
Only one person could be responsible.
Day.
And now it's June's mission to hunt him down.
The truth they'll uncover will become legend.
Keep it here for more as it comes. In the meantime click the below image to visitMarie Lu's official site, where you can watchLegend's teaser video.
