Warner wins rights to Jeff Smith's "Bone"

Washington, Mar 10 : Warner has picked up the rights to Jeff Smith's comic book series "Bone" to be produced by Dan Lin.

The purchase of the deal amounted to a mid-six-figure option against seven figures, reported Variety.

The show, described as Bugs Bunny meets "The Lord of the Rings", is likely to be developed as a CG toon for a broad family audience, but it could also turn into a live-action picture, depending on who directs it.

Smith had first began self-publishing the comic book in 1991. In 2005, Scholastic, looking for another fantasy hit to follow "Harry Potter," began issuing the saga.

The first instalment of the series, which is called "Out From Boneville," starts with three Bone cousins lost and separated in the desert, who are then reunited on a farmstead run by Gran'Ma Ben and her granddaughter, Thorn.

The following instalments featured the Bone cousins as slaying dragons, clashing with rat creatures and hunting for treasure.

A million copies of the series have already been sold, with the last two of nine instalments yet to bow.

Jon Silk, VP of production for Lin Pictures, brought the project and will co-produce it, while Smith will serve as the exec producer.

Lin, a former production exec for Warner, is shepherding several projects for the studio, including "Justice League" and the American remake of South Korean hit "The Chaser".

ANI