Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Signaling that Universal Pictures sees the project as a priority, the studio has set Joe Roth to produce the film adaptation of Daughter Of Smoke & Bone, the young-adult fantasy novel by National Book Award Finalist Laini Taylor. Roth Film President Palak Patel will executive produce.

The protagonist is a 17-year-old art student who is sent by her awful father on travels across the globe to collect teeth for an unspecified but creepy purpose. This leads her to an encounter with an angel and revelations about her family that lead her into adventures involving otherworldly beings. The book was acquired for high-six figures late last year in a pitched battle between Universal and Paramount.

Roth produced for Universal Snow White And The Huntsman and is working on the sequel, with Evan Daugherty just having turned in a script.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone was published in the U.S. by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The second installment, Days Of Blood & Starlight, was published last month.

“In Daughter Of Smoke & Bone, Laini Taylor masterfully tells a story of identity and destiny that welcomes readers into a fantastical world with a unique mythology,” said Roth. “It is very different than anything we’ve seen before and I look forward to bringing the fascinating characters to the big screen.”

Said the author: “I am a huge fan of his big, gorgeous fantasy epics with powerful female characters. I can’t wait to see how he’ll bring my world to life on film. He’s the dream producer for this property, and I couldn’t be happier.”