Fox 2000 has acquired the film rights to The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Rumors have swirled that Downtown Abbey director Brian Percival would helm this movie project, but it has not been confirmed.

The movie studio has recruited Sophie Nelisse to play the title character of Liesel Meminger. Oscar-nominated actor Geoffrey Rush and War Horse actress Emily Watson will portray Liesel’s foster parents.


Here’s more from The Hollywood Reporter: “Ben Schnetzer (Happy Town) and Nico Liersch also are cast in the screen translation of the novel, which spent more than 280 weeks on best-seller charts. Thief centers on Liesel (Nelisse), a spirited young girl who witnesses the horrors of Nazi Germany while in the care of foster parents (Rush and Watson). The girl arrives with a stolen book and begins collecting other tomes, learning to read while her stepparents harbor a Jewish refugee (Schnetzer) under the stairs.”