Susanna White To Direct 'Twilight' Author's 'The Host'

Though it may be hard to believe, Stephenie Meyer, the author behind the Twilight phenomenon, also published a non-Twilight book. It's called The Host and while it also blends genre with romance there are no sparkly vampires here. Instead, The Host is about alien parasites called the Souls who take over Earth by inhabiting human bodies and what happens when one human's brain fights back.

A film adaptation has been in the pipeline for a while with a script by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show) and now a director has been added to the equation. Susanna White, who did this year's family sequel Nanny McPhee Returns as well as several episodes of David Simon's HBO series Generation Kill, will take the reigns of this potential franchise. Read more after the break.

Variety broke the news of White's involvement with the project.

According to Amazon, while Meyer's Twilight books are considered "Young Adult," The Host is considered "Adult" and though it shares some of the same themes as Twilight, it's decidedly more mature. Here's the Publisher's Weekly review from the Amazon page:

In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a soul called Wanderer. Melanie uses her surviving brain cells to persuade Wanderer to help search for her loved ones in the Arizona desert. When the pair find Melanie's brother and her boyfriend in a hidden rebel cell led by her uncle, Wanderer is at first hated. Once the rebels accept Wanderer, whom they dub Wanda, Wanda's whole perspective on humanity changes. While the straightforward narrative is short on detail about the invasion and its stunning aftermath, it shines with romantic intrigue, especially when a love triangle (or quadrangle?!) develops for Wanda/Melanie.

While White's involvement with Nanny McPhee doesn't inspire confidence, her work on Generation Kill does. That show was amazing so I'm sure she'll be able to handle this material. Yet even with her at the helm, it's still Niccol's involvement that really intrigues me. He's done so much great writing that humanizes sci-fi, it seems like he'd simultaneously be able to adapt a story like this and give it a whole new level of gravitas.

What do you think of this pairing?