Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer has been green lit by New Line Cinema, and Singer is currently looking at actors to take the lead. Deadline reports that Aaron Johnson, with fantastic recent performances in Kick-Ass and Nowhere Boy, is a favorite, but other actors are still being looked at.

Written by Darren Lemke and Mark Bomback, Jack the Giant Killer is a dark version of the classic fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.  Singer has been courting this project for some time, and is now seeing some major progress in its pre-production.  Hit the jump for more information on Singer’s other projects, including X-Men: First Class.

Writer Christopher MxQuarrie, who has worked with Singer on The Usual Suspects, has worked on a draft of the script.  Singer showed interest in Jack the Giant Killer when both it and X-Men: First Class were both in development. Now, X-Men is being directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), and Singer can give his directorial attention to Jack while remaining a producer on X-Men. We've hearing from sources that principal photography on Jack the Giant Killer is schedule to begin  in March.  We're also hearing the movie is being shot in 3D, but that is not confirmed yet.

Here's a synopsis that's floating around:

“A princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants’ kingdom in hope of rescuing her.”

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With production getting ready to begin very soon, expect a lot of casting news in the near future.