ComingSoon.net has the latest poster for the big-screen version of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and I'm afraid it is just another installment of one-sheets that I think looks pretty 'blah.' Sure, they all have the same look and feel, but since they aren't exactly the most eye-catching designs in the first place, this is not necessarily a good thing. Directed by Mark Waters, Spiderwick is based on the best-selling fantasy series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. This is the third poster release for the film, and there was also a teaser trailer released in July. I'll admit that after watching the teaser, I couldn't help but think the whole thing seemed an awful lot like Pan's Labyrinth -- but without all of the trauma.

Set in the US, the story revolves around three siblings who stumble across a "field guide to faeries" that opens up a parallel world. While the trio are discovering all kinds of benevolent little creatures, they come across some slightly less-friendly ones as well, and the latest poster even works in a little menace by adding 'Beware' to the heading. The family flick stars Sarah Bolger as Mallory Grace and Freddie Highmore as both Jared and Simon Grace. Rounding out the cast is David Strathairn as Arthur Spiderwick and Mary Louise Parker as Helen Grace.

There were over 12 books published as part of the series, including supplementary books, so there is a lot of material if Nickelodeon decides to make a franchise out of the film. Now that The Golden Compass' future is a little less sure, maybe Spiderwick can take the place of the "heir to Harry Potter" for children's fantasy films. The Spiderwick Chronicles opens on February 15th, 2008.

Try figuring this sentence out at 6am: "Freddie Highmore and Sarah Bolger have been cast as the three Grace children in the fantasy film The Spiderwick Chronicles." If you're like me, you'll read it roughly 15 times to make sure that "Freddie Highmore" and "Sarah Bolger" are, in fact, only two names. And then you'll spend far too long trying to figure out how the hell two people are going to play three kids. It's not until a half-hour later (post-coffee) that you read further and find out that two of the three kids are ... identical twins. A-HA! So that's how it's going to work! Highmore, who played Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, will play those twins, Simon and Jared (he's the bad one), while Bolger will play sis Mallory.

The film is based on yet another of the endless list of young adult fantasy series recently snatched up by Hollywood; this one is about three kids who move into an ancient mansion (the Spiderwick of the movie's title), "where they discover Brownie, an enchanted creature who introduces them to a world of goblins, fairies and sprites." Mark Waters (of Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, both of which are votes in his favor) will be directing starting this fall, working from a screenplay that The Hollywood Reporter (but not the IMDb) claims was written by John Sayles.