Bayona Pushes "Z" Sequel For "A Monster Calls"

"The Impossible" and "The Orphanage" director Juan Antonio Bayona may have signed on to direct the sequel to "World War Z" at Paramount and Skydance last December, but now it seems as though that film has been pushed back so that Bayona can get to work on another movie.

In an official press release, Bayona is set to first call action on an adaptation of  the Patrick Ness award-winning children's fantasy novel "A Monster Calls".

The story follows a young boy who attempts to deal with his mother's illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales.

Ness is writing the adapted screenplay.

Belén Atienza will produce the film.

A Fall 2016 release is planned.