Continuing to distance herself from Twilight-esque roles, Kristen Stewart is set to star in the film adaptation of On the Road.

The actress - who has been signed up to portray the character of Marylou, a disaffected drifter in the 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac - will begin shooting the picture at the end of the summer when she has finished all her promotion work for Eclipse, the third film in the popular vampire franchise.

“I am very much attached to a movie that has been trying to get made forever. Not that this is going to help it, but maybe I can just brag a little bit. I am super excited about it, too. I am about to play Marylou in On the Road. So that’s a big deal.”

The movie, which is a largely autobiographical work based on the spontaneous road trips of the novelist and his friends across the US, will also star Tron Legacy actor Garrett Hedlund who will play Marylou’s husband. The picture, which is rumored to be directed by Walter Salles, has been spoken about for years by filmmakers such as Gus Van Sant and Francis Ford Coppola who were keen to adapt Kerouac’s story for the big screen.