Warner Bros. has acquired the distribution rights to the bestselling YA book The Selection according to Deadline. The novel, which is the first in a series of five books, follows America Singer, who is one of a group of 35 underprivileged girls who are chosen to compete for the heart of Prince Maxon, so that they can then live the life of luxury if they win. Unfortunately for America, she’s secretly in love with Aspen, a boy below her social standing.
Warner Bros. has brought on Black List scribe Katie Lovejoy (NBC’s Dracula) to adapt the novel by Kiera Cass. There are also two sequels – The Elite and The One – that have already been published, which Warner Bros. will likely hope to adapt as well if the first entry is a hit. The series publisher, HarperTeen, recently commissioned two more volumes of the series. Warner Bros. attempted to turn the gothic love story Beautiful Creatures into a film series in 2013 but that movie failed to capture an audience. Sony went through a similar experience with The Mortal Intstruments: City of Bones that same year.
The Selection had been tossed around as a television series for The CW (produced by Warner Bros. TV) that got two consecutive pilots starring Aimee Teegarden and Yael Grobglas in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The battle for the role of America Singer in the feature version will likely be hotly contested among Hollywood’s young actresses.
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