At the movies, we’ve seen the world end almost every way imaginable: disease, zombies, meteors, natural disasters, and the list goes on. But author Joe Hill has a new one—and the idea is so hot, pun intended, that Hollywood scooped it up even before his book was published.
The title of the book is The Fireman; it’s about a worldwide plague of a mysterious disease that starts as small marks on the skin, but eventually grows and makes the person burst into flames. It’ll be out in May, but Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox has just purchased the film rights, with Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me, The Incredible Hulk) attached to direct.
If you aren’t familiar with Hill, he’s the son of Stephen King for starters. He’s also inherited his father’s gift for the written word, along with that creepy imagination. His book Horns became a movie, and he wrote the comic Locke & Key—so The Fireman is only his latest work. As for why it’s called that, one of the few people who seems to be able to fight this outbreak is a mysterious character known as, well, you guessed it. The Fireman.
Head to Amazon to read the full plot description.
http://www.amazon.com/Fireman-Novel-...
Leterrier is just about to release the spy comedy The Brothers Grimsby with Sacha Baron Cohen, but doesn’t have a set film after that yet.
[Deadline]
Contact the author at germain@io9.com.