Saorise Ronan is becoming quite the in-demnad star, despite only being 17-years-old. Now The Lovely Bones and Hanna star has a new role, playing the lead in the movie version of Twilight author Stephanie Meyer’s The Host, according to Deadline.
With the book not as well received as Meyer’s vampire tomes, this one has been in development for a while as a sci-fi indie project, which will be looking for sales at the Cannes Film Market.
The Host is a sort of modern Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers type story set in the near-future, when humanity has been assimilated by a species of alien parasites that call themselves ‘souls’. One of these creatures, known as The Wanderer, is fused with a dying human called Melanie Stryder (Ronan), in an attempt to locate the last pocket of non-assimilated humans. However when The Wanderer is attached, it is so overwhelmed by Melanies memories and feelings that the alien is driven to reconnect with its host’s old life
While many don’t think much of the book (which is classed as more adult than the Twilight series), the good news is that Andrew Niccol has been on scripting duties. He’s got a great pedigree in producing thinking man’s science fiction, having scripted the likes of Gatacca, The Truman Show and the upcoming Now (which he’s also directed). Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang director Susanna White signed up to direct a couple of months ago, but Deadline suggests it may actually Niccol who ends up behind the camera.