Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) has signed on to star in an upcoming adaptation of Emily the Strange. TheWrap reports that Universal recently acquired the rights to the Dark Horse comic, and that the film will most likely be “an origin story about the odd teenager and her four mysterious cats.” This marks yet another high profile film for the young actress following her starring roles in October’s Let Me In and next year’s Hugo Cabret.  Hit the jump to find out more about the Emily the Strange.

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I’ve been seeing the image of Emily the Strange for years now on t-shirts and purses, but I never really knew who she was or why she was popular.  Luckily, a quick search over at Wikipedia filled me in with some info about the character.

According to the site, Emily the Strange began life as a sticker in 1991 that was created by Rob Reger and used to promote Santa Cruz Skateboards in Santa Cruz, California.  The character of Emily then spawned a franchise that has a considerable merchandising catalog, including clothing, stationery, stickers and fashion accessories. She has since become somewhat of a counterculture figure

Dark Horse began to publish Emily the Strange comic books in 2005, which then turned into an ongoing monthly comic book series in 2008.  The character also had her own four book series aimed at young adults that recently wrapped up in March.

Here's the official synopsis for Emily the Strange #1: The Boring Issue:

For more than ten years, pop culture cultists have revered and adored a mysterious, brooding thirteen-year-old girl named Emily the Strange. Nobody knows much about the young girl with a porcelain face and huge eyes framed by black bangs, and her ever-present brood of black cats only adds to the intrigue--but that hasn't stopped a generation of rabid fans from letting Emily put her spell upon them. Now, for the first time ever, Emily fans will be welcomed into her dark and, well, strange world--a place where kitty friends talk, the ghosts of famous weirdos come out to play, reality is never quite what it seems, and--above all--a place where anyone who's ever been considered a little "strange" themselves will be made to feel right at home. [Dark Horse]