Warner Bros. Pictures has bought the rights to the soon-to-be published young-adult fantasy manuscript
Endymion Spring, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The story is set in present-day Oxford and in 1450s Germany, at the dawn of printing. A young printer's apprentice discovers a mysterious chest with clasps that look like snakes heads -- with fangs that are rumored to be poisoned.
When he touches it, the fangs pierce his fingers, drawing blood, and the chest opens. It contains a secret that will endure for more than 500 years until one lonely boy accidentally discovers it, beginning a quest for knowledge and power that puts him and humanity in grave danger.