The adaptation of Twilight author Stephanie Meyer’s sci-fi novel The Host is gearing up now that writer-director Andrew Niccol has wrapped up duties on his latest feature In Time. The film takes place in the future, and Saoirse Ronan is set to star as Melanie, a woman whose body is invaded by an alien named Wanderer. Casting has now turned to the two male leads in the film: Jared, Melanie’s boyfriend, and Ian, “a menacing young man who brutalizes Wanderer before falling in love with her.” Hit the jump to find out what actors are in the running for the two roles.Variety reports that the actors testing for Jared include Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Jai Courtney (Spartacus: Blood and Sand), and Max Irons (Red Riding Hood). Testing for Ian is Dane DeHaan (In Treatment), Thomas McDonnell (Prom), Augustus Prew (The Borgias), and Jake Abel (The Lovely Bones).Hemsworth is already in deep as one of two male leads with another franchise, The Hunger Games, but he’s definitely one of the more in-demand young actors at the moment. Harington has also been in the spotlight as of late, as he’s in the running for the role of Arthur in David Dobkin’s Arthur & Lancelot. Ian seems to be a much darker role, and DeHaan can certainly pull off menacing judging by the recent trailer for the found-footage superhero movie Chronicle.I haven’t read The Host, so I’m not going to try to judge what actors are best for the roles. I will say I liked Harington’s work on Game of Thrones quite a bit, and DeHaan sure seems like he can handle nefarious. As for Niccol, In Time was a bit of a disappointment but this is still the guy behind Gattaca and The Truman Show. I’m curious to find out what Niccol saw in Meyer’s source material to draw him to the project. The Host opens March 29th, 2013.Here’s the synopsis for The Host:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. [Amazon]