After making insane amounts of money at the box office with last year's horror hit IT, director Andy Muschietti has now lined up his next major project. Warner Bros. has finalized a deal with Japanese publisher Kodansha to adapt the popular manga series Attack on Titan into a feature film. With the rights now in place, the studio has brought on Muschietti to direct the film, hoping to see some of that success translate into his next movie. Producing the film will be Barbara Muschietti (It, Mama), Masi Oka (Mega Man), and David Heyman (Harry Potter series).

Since its conception in 2009, Attack on Titan has proven to be immensely popular, selling over 76 million copies worldwide. The manga series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where gargantuan man-eating humanoids known as "Titans" have wiped out most of humanity. People have only survived by building gigantic walls to protect themselves from the Titans, but after a century of peace, things go terribly wrong when the Titans are finally able to break through. If given a proper budget, this is the kind of story which will seem really intense when played out on the big screen. The manga series is written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama.

In the summer of 2015, a two-part theatrical version of Attack on Titan was released in Japan by director Shinji Higuchi, earning $46 million. It was followed up with a three-episode webseries called Attack on Titan: Counter Rockets, which used some of the same actors from the Higuchi film. Additionally, the manga had previously been adapted as an anime TV series in 2013 by Wit Studio. The show consisted of three seasons and was brought to North America by Funimation in 2014. It seemed inevitable for a feature film about the series to be made domestically, so fans will be happy to know that the news is now official.

The folks at Warner Bros. are no doubt banking on a big turnout for their version of Attack on Titan, as evidenced by the decision to go with Muschietti. When It hit theaters last year, it wound up smashing all kinds of box office records, pulling in a haul of over $700 million worldwide. When considering that it's an R-rated horror film, the feat is made all that much more impressive. The sequel is set to release next year, and will more than likely achieve similar results. The studio clearly sees money in Muschietti, and they're going to keep him busy for many years to come.

Because the ink is still drying on the paperwork, details on the film are still scarce. All we know is Muschietti is definitely on board, but information about its plot and a possible release date have yet to be seen. We expect more details to be forthcoming as pre-production begins, but given his credibility with successfully adapting Stephen King's most legendary work, Attack on Titan seems to be in good hands. This news comes to us courtesy of Variety.