A while ago, Dreamworks bought the rights to the sci-fi novel, I Am Number Four, with an eye to Michael Bay producing and possibly directing. Well, it seems he won’t be doing the latter, as THR reports that DJ Caruso has signed on to direct the film version. Caruso has become a bit of a Dreamworks regular following Disturbia and Eagle Eye, and will continue the relationship here.
The book is about a group of nine children from a planet called Lorien who have been attacked by a hostile race from another planet. The nine children and their guardians evacuate to earth, where three are killed. The protagonist, a Lorien boy named John Smith, hides in Paradise, Ohio, as a human and tries to evade his predators.
The book was written by Joby Hughes and James Frey, the latter of whom you may remember as the man who got caught up in a scandal when it was revealed parts of his memoir, A Million Little Pieces, had been been made up, which led to Oprah publically berating him on her show. However with I Am Number Four, you’ve got to wonder whether the makers of the TV series Roswell (aka Roswell High) will be looking to see whether there are too many similarities to their show when the book is published this autumn.
The script for the film version is being handled by Smallville’s Al Gough and Miles Millar. With six book planned in the series, it seems Dreamworks smells a possible teen sci-fi franchise with I Am Number Four.