Walden Media Joins The 'Dark' Side

Walden Media has acquired the film rights to Susan Cooper's five-book epic fantasy series known as The Dark Is Rising Sequence. Marc Platt is on board to produce a feature based on The Dark Is Rising, the second book in the series.

Dark tells the story of a boy whose everyday life is turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of the Old Ones, a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces known as "the Dark." As he uncovers a series of mysterious clues -- some dating back to the founding of Britain and others going all the way back to biblical times -- the boy discovers that with the Dark again rising, the future of the world rests in his hands.

Dark was first was published in 1973 and earned numerous awards, including the prestigious Newbery Award from the American Library Assn. in 1974.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence also includes 1965's Over Sea, Under Stone, 1974's Greenwitch, 1975's The Grey King (winner of the 1976 Newbery) and 1977's Silver on the Tree.

Executive vp production Alex Schwartz and director of development Evan Turner will oversee the project for Walden. Adam Siegel and Jared LeBoff are shepherding the project for Marc Platt Prods.

The Dark series previously had been in development as a feature at the Jim Henson Co.

Dark is the second major franchise acquisition for Walden, which acquired the rights to C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia in 2001. The first film from that deal, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, will be released Dec. 9 with the Walt Disney Co.

Platt recently produced the award-winning Broadway musical Wicked. His upcoming projects include the film The Perfect Man and HBO's Empire Falls.