Selma and A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay is getting into the animation business. Warner Bros. has announced that they've teamed up with the acclaimed filmmaker to develop "a high-end serialized animated family television series based on the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling book series Wings of Fire, from author Tui T. Sutherland." Per the press release "Wings of Fire book series is an epic adventure set in a world entirely ruled by dragons. Across two continents and 10 tribes, the series explores vicious wars, enduring friendships, and heroic quests that span generations of fascinating dragon characters."

There's no word yet on who will serve as showrunner or even what network the series will air on (my guess is that WB, looking to beef up their HBO Max offerings, will put the series there, which is where they're also developing DMZ with DuVernay).

It's exciting to see DuVernay start to grow into a powerhouse producer. While she's working on helming New Gods for Warner Bros. and she's also working on the Amazon series Dawn. Adding Wings of Fire to her portfolio helps give DuVernay a bigger footprint in the industry and allows her to help other rising filmmakers, this time in the animation space. I'm a big fan of DuVernay and her vision, so I'm eager to see what she does with a property like this that's directed at adolescents like Wrinkle in Time but able to tell a story in long form.

Here's the synopsis for the first five Wings of Fire books:

A war has been raging between the dragon tribes of Pyrrhia for years. According to a prophecy, five dragonets will end the bloodshed and choose a new queen. But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny discover the truth about their unusual, secret upbringing, they might choose freedom over fate -- and find a way to save their world in their own way.