James Cameron has selected “The Informationist” as his follow-up to the “Avatar” franchise.
Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired the rights to Taylor Stevens' 2011 novel, and will develop the adaptation as a future project for Cameron to direct and produce.
Cameron is presently at work on the second and third "Avatar" films, which Fox is keen to have after the record-breaking success of the first one.
The adaptation of Stevens' novel wil also be a Fox project. Published last October, it chronicles Vaness Munroe, an information specialist who works for heads of state, corporations and anyone else who can afford her special talents.
A Texas oil billionaire hires her to track his daughter down in Africa, which cuts Munroe off from civilization and forces her to confront her past.
“Taylor Stevens’ Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure," Cameron said in a statement. "Equally fascinating for me is her emotional life and her unexpected love story. I’m looking forwarding to bringing Vanessa and her world to the big screen.”
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Cameron will produce with Lightstorm partner Jon Landau, who cited the movie as an opportunity to keep working with Fox and chairman Jim Gianopulos after "Avatar." That's a major endorsement from one of the studio's most important creatives in light of Tom Rothman's looming departure.
They must still hire a writer.
Landau also deemed the Munroe character a mix of Jason Bourne and Lisbeth Salander (the protagonist of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
Stevens, born into a religious cult and raised in communes around the world, has written a second novel in the series, "The Innocent," published earlier this year.