Jennifer Yuh Nelson—the assistant designer who moved up into the role of character designer and storyboard artist (while also debuting as a director on a few episodes of the animated TV series Spawn), and then up again to story artist, and then again to head of story on the original Kung Fu Panda before taking another big step up into the role of director on Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3 (along with co-director Alessandro Carloni)—is now set to make her live-action debut on Darkest Minds for 20th Century Fox.

The movie is based on the “Darkest Minds” young adult book trilogy by author Alexandra Bracken. The book series is described as “combining superhero conventions with tones of coming-of-age stories such as Stand By Me and post-apocalyptic survivor tales like The Walking Dead.”

Here’s a description of the first book in the series from Amazon:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

In addition to writing the “Darkest Minds” books, which were published by Disney-Hyperion, Bracken also penned last year’s novelization of the original Star Wars, titled Star Wars: A New Hope The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy.

Darkest Minds is being produced by Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps banner.

No release window has been announced yet.

[Source: Heat Vision]