Updates on the film adaptation of Josh Howard’s comic DEAD@17 are usually few and far between: the last we got was in March, when Howard himself said that LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT director Dennis Iliadis had become attached as director. Since then, a writer has come aboard the project, one Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who toils mostly in television and worked on multiple scripts for “Lost” and “Charmed”, among many others series… So where does the project stand now?
Howard once again is the one doing the updating; on his official Twitter page, he dropped the following: It’s been a long road, and still more to go, but negotiations have officially begun. #Dead@17movie
It’s a little vague, but it signifies movement on the film. After looking into an interview from a few days ago with Howard over at Crave Online, I discovered a teeny bit more: “There have been lots of developments this past month, but I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say right now. We’re in early negotiations with a studio. We’ve got Dennis Iliadis on board to direct and Javier Grillo-Marxuach is writing, and we may be close to securing the lead actress. Things are looking really, really good.”
Hopefully news of the specific actress will hit soon. Vanessa Hudgens (pictured below) was at one time rumored to be playing the lead, Nara Kilday, a murdered teenager who is resurrected to prevent the pending Apocalypse, but earlier this year she said it “never really materialized”. I guess we’ll see who it materializes for!