VICIOUS, written by V.E. Schwab, is about two ambitious pre-med students who discover that under the right conditions, a person can develop extraordinary supernatural abilities, and it's currently headed to the adaptation chopping block as Upstart producer/financier Story Mining & Supply Co have teamed with Scott Free to acquire the rights to the novel. According to Deadline, SM&SC’s Jeffrey Sharp and production president Evan Hayes will produce with Ridley Scott and Michael Schaefer, along with Allison Gillogly. She brought in the book, which was published in September by Tor Books.
I haven't read the novel, but it sounds like a pretty ambitious story that will no doubt take some solid talent to bring it to life, and with a title like VICIOUS how could we not get excited about it!? Here's what it's about:
VICIOUS is about two ambitious pre-med students who discover that under the right conditions, a person can develop extraordinary supernatural abilities. Once they move from theoretical to experimental, things go horribly wrong. Their friendship becomes corrupted by terrible power on both sides, setting the stage for an epic rivalry fueled by ambition, jealousy and revenge — a toxic mix when fueled by superpowers.
The acquisition was made through the development fund of SM&SC, which was formed this fall by Sharp and writer-director-financier Jim Kohlberg. Kohlberg and Sharp are behind Starz’s Outlander and The Yellow Birds, scripted and directed by David Lowery.