Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to author Jeff VanderMeer's upcoming thriller novel Annihilation, and the subsequent sequels in what he is calling the "Southern Reach Trilogy."

The story centers on a biologist, who volunteers for an expedition inside Area X, an environmental disaster site that the government has secretly sealed off for the past 30 years. She joins a faction known as the Southern Reach, an organization which has lead 11 missions into the area, all of which have failed. The story is told through the biologist's perspective, who discovers serene wilderness inside of Area X, while finding that the laws of nature aren't exactly the same.

Scott Rudin is producing alongside Eli Bush. No screenwriter or director has been attached at this time. Annihilation will be published early next year, although it isn't known when the sequel books will debut.