Elizabeth Banks To Direct YA Fantasy 'Red Queen'

Elizabeth Banks made her feature directorial debut this past spring with "Pitch Perfect 2," and things could not have gone better. The movie was a smash it, with a sequel already in development. And while Banks is deciding whether or not she’ll direct the Bellas once again, she’s making a move to try something a little bigger and certainly different.

THR reports that Banks will helm the adaptation of the YA fantasy novel "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard. This is another one of those stories where factions of people are separated by a particular human trait and then have to fight the authorities in control. Same ‘ol, same ‘ol but the formula works. Here’s the book synopsis:

Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood–those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard–a growing Red rebellion–even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Gennifer Hutchison ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul") wrote the script for the project that’s set up at Universal. And certainly, it marks Hollywood’s confidence in Banks’ evolving skills as a filmmaker.