Hey, Zack Snyder! You’ve just won the film grossing sweepstakes with two hit movies (300 and Watchmen). What are you going to do next? Nope, it’s not a trip to Disneyland, but Mr. Snyder will be bringing his manly action movie skills to bear on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, the popular children’s book series by Kathryn Lasky. It’s a 15-book series, published by Scholastic Books, and features an owl as the main character. The Guardians of Ga’hoole are mythical owl protectors and their legend helps a young Barn Owl named Soren escape from his captors to warn his family of impending danger.

The screenplay is credited to John Orloff (The Mighty Heart) and a release date is tentatively set for 2010. Village Roadshow and Warner Bros. are producing with the gang from the CG animation studio Animal Logic which also did “Happy Feet,” the dancing penguin movie.

The CG film will feature the voices of Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Taylor, David Wenheim and Jim Sturgess. If you don’t want to wait for the movie, you can get a peek at it by reading the books. The first book in the series is called The Capture.

Writing on her blog, author Lasky says, “I am thrilled! Warner Brothers has been wonderful. They have listened to me, and I feel that the screenwriter and director will remain very faithful to the spirit of the books.” Mark it on your calendar.

(Cover illustration from Book 2, The Journey)
If you missed some of our Watchmen Week thus far, there’s still time to catch up with the previous posts:
WATCHMEN WEEK Part 1
WATCHMEN WEEK Part 2
WATCHMEN WEEK Part 3
WATCHMEN WEEK Part 4