‘Final Destination’ creator Jeffrey Reddick has signed on to adapt ‘The Undertakers’ for Modernciné, producer-director Andrew van den Houten has announced. The writer will pen the first book from the young adult books by Ty Drago.
Modernciné has released the following synopsis of ‘The Undertakers’ book series:
The books, described as ‘Spy Kids’ crossed with ‘The Walking Dead’ centers on Will Ritter, a high school student who begins to see that some of the people around him are “Deaders,” inter-dimensional entities that take over the bodies of the dead and use them as hosts. When Will is recruited by a group of kids who are also gifted with “The Sight,” he discovers that he holds the secret to stopping this new type of terrifying invasion.
Of signing on to write ‘The Undertakers,’ Reddick said “I’ve been trying to find a project to do with Andrew for years and when I read Ty’s book I knew this was the one. It’s a unique concept with compelling characters and a fun mixture of adventure, cool sci-fi and intense horror.”
Moderciné has made a name for itself by releasing such dark and edgy films as ‘The Girl Next Door’ and ‘The Woman.’ The studio hopes to turn ‘The Undertakers’ into a successful franchise, much like Reddick’s ‘Final Destination’ series.
“With Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson’s ‘All Cheerleaders Die’ in post-production, ‘The Undertakers’ is yet another potential franchise that moves our brand toward larger audiences. Mr. Reddick is the ultimate fanboy of these types of films and his success is proven. His vision for adapting Ty Drago’s awesomely original book series is exactly what we want to bring to the big screen. ‘The Undertakers’ gives us chance to share the horror genre with the younger underserved fans as well,” said van den Houten.
So far, there have been two books published in the critically acclaimed ‘Undertaker’ series, ‘The Undertakers: Rise of The Corpses’ and ‘The Undertakers: Queen of The Dead.’ Ty Drago, the author of ‘The Undertakers,’ also praised Riddick’s work, saying the screenwriter “has done more than simply capture the spirit of ‘The Undertakers.’ He’s brought them to life, with all the action and horror and humanity that goes along with that. His screenplay honored me almost as much as it blew me away!”
Written by: Karen Benardello
