M.R. Carey will adapt his 2014 novel The Girl with All the Gifts for film, The Hollywood Reporter announced today. Retitled as She Who Brings Gifts, the movie will star Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton, and Paddy Considine, and will be directed by Colm McCarthy (Sherlock, Doctor Who).

These stars will likely play the three central adult roles in the film: We’re assuming Arterton is idealistic young teacher Miss Justineau, who must teach special children in the wake of a worldwide fungal infection; Considine will bring the muscle as Sergeant Ed Parks, terrified and disgusted by his charges; and Close must be Doctor Caroline Caldwell, who will sacrifice as many test subjects as she needs to in order to find a cure.

But what about Melanie, the girl who will bring gifts? The casting directors will probably be looking for an unknown to play the precocious Melanie, who knows that something is wrong with her but also yearns for love and acceptance. In a press release, producer Angus Lamont talked a little bit about the film’s emotional core:

Melanie’s story is a completely unique take on a much loved genre, seamlessly blending together a lonely child’s search for love and family with a terrifying journey where she controls the fate of the last adult humans on earth.

Filming will begin in the UK in May 2015; no release date has been announced yet.