Horrible Bosses writer Michael Markowitz has signed on to develop the script for animated King of the Elves, for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The project is an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story about an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life.

King of the Elves is eyeing a holiday 2013 premiere.