So 'Mortal Instruments' With Lily Collins Happening After All, 'Karate Kid' Helmer Harald Zwart To Direct

nullIt seems that more projects coming back to life. With "The Dark Tower" and "Arthur and Lancelot" headed to the big screen once again thanks to Warner Bros. earlier this week, another project thought left for dead last month is now back, alive and kicking.

"The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," once set up over at Screen Gems, is still moving, with Constantin Films and Unique Features announcing today that they are backing the Lily Collins-led film with "Karate Kid" helmer Harald Zwart to direct. An adaptation of the popular young adult novel series by Cassandra Clare, the story is set in contemporary New York City, and follows a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray, who discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother, Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.

Last spring, Jamie Campell Bowers was announced as the male lead, but it seems he is no longer attached. As for Zwart, he's an odd choice, a guy who has done a random bunch of stuff ranging from "One Night At McCool's" to "Pink Panther 2" and even has toy movie "Bukugan Battle Brawlers" developing, but he doesn't have any discernable voice as far as we can tell. But maybe that's good for a series that has a built-in audience and storyline — all he has to do is adapt what's written on the page by Jessica Postigo and I. Marlene King.

You can bet the producers are hoping this will be their "The Hunger Games," which is expected to open to about a bajillion dollars next weekend. No word yet on when it will shoot, but hopefully this thing, which has been developing forever, will finally start moving for real.