MUMBAI: Warner Bros. has acquired the rights of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s new book Unholy Night for approximately $2 million.
Grahame-Smith will also produce the film with partner David Katzenberg through their KatzSmith Productions in association with David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford‘s Heyman Films.
Unholy Night retells the birth of Jesus as an adventure story centered on the three kings in the nativity story who travel to Bethlehem to witness his birth. In Grahame-Smith‘s version, the three kings are thieves on the run who are forced to help Mary and Jesus escape to Egypt. Along the way they battle magical biblical creatures and encounter figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist. Grand Central will publish the book on April 10, 2012.
Grahame-Smith pioneered the current trend of literary mash-ups with the surprise 2009 bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. He followed that up with this year‘s hit Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He also wrote the screenplay of the movie adaptation named Abraham Lincoln that is set to release in June 2012.