DreamWorks Pictures has set Brett Ratner to direct the long-gestating adaptation of The 39 Clues.

We first reported on this project back in September 2008, when screenwriter Jeff Nathanson was hired to adapt this young adult novel series. At the time, it was being developed as a possible vehicle for Steven Spielberg to direct. Now Jeff Nathanson will reunite with Brett Ratner, who directed Tower Heist from Jeff Nathanson's script.

The story centers on the Cahill family, the most powerful family in the world, and the interactive book series offers clues to how they became so powerful. Scholastic Books developed the series into a multi-platform franchise, with trading cards, websites, and other online games which tie into the story as well. The 11th book installment was recently published, after the series' initial launch in 2008.

No production schedule was given for The 39 Clues.