Disney Digs Up Neil Gaiman's 'The Graveyard Book'

It's been confined to the pits of development hell for a while with the likes of Neil Jordan ('Interview With The Vampire', 'The Brave One') at one time set to write and direct before that project eventually fell through but now it seems as though Neil Gaiman's superb 'The Graveyard Book' is about to be unearthed once again. Deadline reports that Disney have secured the rights to Gaiman's children's fantasy novel in a very lucrative six figure deal. Coincidentally, this follows on from news that Warner Bros. are set to start work on a new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' of which Gaiman's tale is somewhat inspired by as it tells the story of a boy called Bod who is raised by ghosts and other supernatural denizens in a graveyard after his family is murdered:

"Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other."

Gaiman has already enjoyed considerable success in the film world, with both 'Coraline' and 'Stardust' being brought to the screen with considerable success, commercially and critically, while in the meantime, Gaiman's bestseller 'American Gods' is currently in development over at HBO with plans for it to be turned into a series with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone producing. Though there's no official confirmation as yet, it is highly unlikely that Neil Jordan is still attached to the project now that it has changed studio hands. 'Coraline' was one of my favorite movies of 2009 and the thought of another of Gaiman's 'The Graveyard Book' being adapted is something that fills me with excitement. Here's hoping the successful run continues. Neil Gaiman's other works include 'Anansi Boys', 'Neverwhere' and 'Fragile Things' while Gaiman himself has also worked as a screenwriter having worked the scripts for 'Beowulf', 'Mirrormask' and even an episode of 'Dr. Who'.