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Twilight author Stephenie Meyer could probably retire with the money she will surely make off of her hit tween vampire series, but it seems as though she’s not satisfied with that. She’s hungry for more, and she will be teaming up with scribe/director Andrew Niccol to make it happen.

The project, The Host, will be based on a Meyer novel of the same name. According to Variety’s Mike Fleming, it is “a love story set in the near future on Earth, which has been assimilated by an alien species that call themselves “Souls.” They are benevolent parasites that subsume the conscious of humans and take possession of their bodies. One such soul, The Wanderer (so named because she has wandered among so many different worlds) is fused with a dying human named Melanie Stryder, in an attempt to locate the last pocket of surviving humans on Earth. The Wanderer cannot subsume the forceful Melanie, and they battle for the girl’s memories and her spirit.”

The project will be independently financed by producers Nick Wechsler and Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, who recently teamed up on the John Hillcoat-directed The Road, an adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel.

This is an interesting little project if you ask me. According to Fleming’s report, this trio of producers have been looking to get into a major sci-fi property for a while, and have long lobbied Meyer for the rights to this book, which was published in 2008. As well, Andrew Niccol has written (and directed) several solid films in the past. He wrote and directed Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage, an intense and well-orchestrated drama about one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers. He also wrote The Terminal for Steven Spielberg and wrote and directed the 1997 sci-fi drama Gattaca. His eye for sci-fi and action — as well as his relatively aggressive visual style — will be an interesting addition to the work of Meyer, who’s writing is at best, quite generic and lacking of innovation. At least, that is what I’ve gleaned from her four “Twilight” books. I will have to give “The Host” a look before I make any further judgments. Regardless, consider me interested in seeing where this project goes.

Have any of you read The Host? If so, what do you think about it being optioned for a movie?