Disney announced yesterday that it planned to adapt Neil Gaiman’s dark children’s novel The Graveyard Book, following off the back of previous Gaiman adaptation Coraline. Apparently keen to replicate the box-office and critical success of the latter, the studio have hired Coraline director Henry Selick to helm the production.

Selick (who also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach) will tackle the gothic story when work on his current top-secret Pixar feature wraps up. While we have no official confirmation on the style of the film, Hypable can guess that it will be a stop-motion movie. After all, the style is Selick’s speciality and is a big part of the reason why fans loved Coraline so much.

The Graveyard Book is a riff on The Jungle Book, telling the story of a boy who lives with ghosts after his family is brutally murdered by a talented killer.

The project is said to be a priority for Disney, after a lengthy negotiation and planning process.

Are you excited that the director is on board with the adaptation?