Having spent the last decade or so scripting the Harry Potter series (save for Order of the Phoenix), Steve Kloves is likely looking forward to never typing the words “Expelliarmus” or “Muggle” ever again. Kicking off the process of moving on, Kloves entered into talks to write and direct a live-action reboot of The Jungle Book. Now comes news that the in-demand scribe is in discussions to do the same for an adaptation of William Landay’s best-selling legal thriller Defending Jacob. Set in Massachusetts, it tells the tale of an assistant district attorney who is compelled to defend his teenaged son when he’s accused of murdering a fellow student. He’s driven by love to believe in the boy’s innocence, even as evidence of guilt continues to pile up. Hit the jump for more.defending-jacob-book-coverProvided Kloves closes on both Defending Jacob and The Jungle Book, Variety reports that Jacob would likely go first. Disruption Entertainment will produce.  You may also remember Kloves as the writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys, and the writer of Wonder Boys. As part of his post-Potter purge, he’s also credited with working on The Amazing Spider-Man and Akira.Here’s the official synopsis for William Landay’s Defending Jacob:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control. [Amazon]