Abigail Breslin To Play Arnold Schwarzenegger's Zombie Daughter In 'Maggie'

In Zombieland, Abigail Breslin teamed up with a ragtag family of post-apocalyptic oddballs to fend off the ongoing zombie apocalypse. In Maggie, she'll take part in another zombie apocalypse by becoming one of the undead. The 17-year-old actress has entered talks to play the title role in the film, which cast Arnold Schwarzenegger last month as Maggie's dad. Hit the jump for plot details and more.

Maggie has been floating around for a little while already. John Scott 3's script attracted some buzz a couple of years back and even landed on the Black List in 2011. The premise is pretty simple: Schwarzenegger plays a father whose daughter falls prey to the zombie virus spreading across the country.

While that transformation takes a matter of minutes, hours, or perhaps days in most zombie films, the infection in Maggie takes longer. (An earlier description of the script put the process at about six weeks.) Maggie and her family spend that time struggling to terms with her fate.

The zombie trend isn't showing signs of slowing down, but as it becomes increasingly ubiquitous we've seen some interesting spins on it. February's Warm Bodies featured a member of the undead as one-half of a star-crossed paranormal teen romance, while this summer's World War Z took an epic, world-spanning approach. Maggie sounds like it could be a more intimate, emotional take on the subgenre.

Breslin signs on about a year after Chloe Moretz was said to be circling the female lead role. Since breaking through with Little Miss Sunshine, Breslin's becoming one of the hottest stars in her age group. She last starred opposite Halle Berry in The Call, and will be seen later this year in two very different high-profile pics, Ender's Game and August: Osage County.

The new film will mark the directorial debut for Hobson, a titles designer who's worked on The Lone Ranger, Snow White and the Huntsman, and The Walking Dead, among other things. Maggie is expected to shoot this fall, likely for a 2014 release.