Music legend Elton John has a soft spot for Nerds and wants to bring them to the big screen. John’s Rocket Pictures recently acquired film fights to the bestselling series Nerds by author Michael Buckley. The title, which stands for “National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society” is about a group of self-professed outcasts and losers who form an espionage unit from within their elementary school. Together they battle a beauty queen-turned-assassin known as Hyena and an assortment of villains using high-tech gadgetry. John and Rocket Pictures are looking to turn the property into a family-friendly animated feature which will be scripted by series creator, Buckley. Hit the jump for more on Nerds.

Deadline reported

on Rocket Pictures' acquisition of the property, of which John will be the executive producer. Rocket Pictures Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish will produce. Shaw made the following comment about Nerds:

“Nerds is an action-filled comedic property with a great inclusive message at its heart. We think it has huge potential as a dynamic and modern family movie.”

Rocket Pictures was the production company behind Disney’s Gnomeo & Juliet and is currently developing Rocketman, a biographical musical-fantasy feature about Elton John himself.

The book series Nerds sports such installments as “M is for Mama’s Boy” and the recently released “The Cheerleaders of Doom,” with characters by the names of Braceface, Wheezer and Gluestick.

Here’s a synopsis from the first book (via Amazon):

NERDS combines all the excitement of international espionage with all the awkwardness of elementary school, and the results are hilarious. A group of unpopular fifth graders run a spy network from inside their school. With the help of cutting-edge science, they transform their nerdy qualities into incredible abilities! Their enemies? An array of James Bond–style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.