Stuart Beattie to Adapt Universal's 'Daughter of Smoke & Bone'

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Stuart Beattie

Stuart Beattie, the high-profile screenwriter whose credits include Collateral and 30 Days of Night, has been tapped to write Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Universal’s adaptation of the YA fantasy by Laini Taylor.

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The first installment of the trilogy, published in September 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, tells the tale of a 17-year-old art student whose father occasionally sends her on errands around the world collecting human teeth for a mysterious purpose. The young woman gradually becomes aware that she is part of an ancient struggle between devils and angels and finds herself in a forbidden romance with a warrior angel.

“It’s been fantastic to delve into the world of the book with a screenwriter of such insight and experience,” said Taylor in a statement. “Between Stuart, Joe Roth and Universal Pictures, we’ve got a team with massive epic flair, and I can’t wait to see what unfolds as we move toward bringing Karou, Akiva, Brimstone and the world of Daughter of Smoke & Bone to the screen.”

The prolific Beattie also worked on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Pirates of the Caribbean and the upcoming I, Frankenstein, which he also directed. He made his directorial debut with the 2010 Australian teen war movie Tomorrow When the War Began.