EXCLUSIVE: Mike Newell has been set to helm The Day Of The Triffids, the adaptation of the classic sci-fi book by John Wyndham that was scripted by Neil Cross for Ghost House Pictures. Those sparked about this development know the logline: After a comet shower blinds most of the world’s population, those with sight must battle alien plants, known as triffids, bent on destroying mankind.

The film’s being produced by Ghost House, Mark Gordon, Don Murphy, and Michael Preger, and Murphy’s Angry Films partner Susan Montford will be executive producer. Newell is repped by WME and UK-based Independent Talent.

The book was previously turned into a 1962 film and most recently a 2009 miniseries that starred Dougray Scott and Joely Richardson.

Newell seems an inspiring choice for the material. The helmer of Four Weddings And A Funeral, Donnie Brasco and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire last helmed Great Expectations.