EW recently reported that actor William Hurt is in talks to play a role in the upcoming Stephenie Meyer adaptation, The Host. If Hurt  gets the role, he will be playing Jeb in the adaptation of the young adult science fiction novel.

The Host is a novel that was released in 2008 and is the first full length novel written by the author of the wildly popular Twilight saga. Meyer has stated that she might turn the novel into a trilogy but hasn’t made a definite decision yet.

Andrew Niccol is attached to direct and Saoirse Ronan has been cast to star as Melanie. If Hurt accepts the role, his character will be the eccentric uncle of Ronan’s character, Melanie.

This could be the next big movie that sweeps the world, it already has an acclaimed writer, and a sci-fi love story that many people already love and will be yearning for once Twilight is over.

You can read the official description of the novel below:

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie’s thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer’s mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

If you are interested in the film, however, you will have a while to wait as its release date is expected to be March 29, 2013.