Since I'm not the biggest fan of 'swords and shields' styled fantasy (i.e. The Chronicles of Narnia), you'll understand why I'm kind of relieved to discover that the new crop of young fantasy flicks are going to be just a little more 'steam punk.' The Hollywood Reporter announced that Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) has signed to direct the feature film version of the youth fantasy novel Larklight for Warner Bros. Kapur will be working with Eastern Promises scribe, Steven Knight to adapt the novel for the big screen.

Larklight is the first book in a series by Phillip Reeve with illustrations provided by David Wyatt. The story is set in an alternate Victorian-styled universe where since the time of Sir Isaac Newton, humanity has been relentlessly exploring the solar system. The protagonists are Arthur Mumby (called Art), his sister Myrtle and their father Edward. The three live in a rambling mansion called Larklight and in the first book of the series, the three get into a series of scrapes with giant spiders from outer space.

Yes, another children's book has been bought by another studio. Today's book is called Larklight, and the studio is Warner Brothers, but the rest of the details are pretty much what we've come to expect: an unpublished children's book, scheduled to be the first in a trilogy, has been snapped up in the hopes that it'll be the Next Big Thing (or, if you prefer, out of fear that someone else will be buy it and be successful). Written by Philip Reeve, Larklight actually sounds pretty cool -- at the very least, it's weird and original, which, in an era in which pretty much everything seems totally derivative, is encouraging. The story takes place in Victorian England, and is about a brother and sister who save the world ... in space. Not only that, but they "team with a band of renegade space pirates" to do so. Wow, so many questions. Are the pirates aliens? Are they members of a super-secret, Victorian space exploration program? (If they visited the moon, JFK is going to be totally bummed.) Since the book so far as no release date in the US (it'll hit shelves in England this summer), we're going to have to wait for the movie to find out. And, sadly, that's likely to be a while. (Right now the rights are probably sitting on the pile at Warner's that's labeled "Stuff we bought so no one else can have it.")