Asa Butterfield is in negotiations to play the lead 17 year old Jacob, who sets off in a search for answers to the story of his eastern European grandfather, after the traumatic & mysterious death of his beloved grandfather. He finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures who are out to destroy them.
Asa (represented by Independent Talent) was recently nominated for Best Actor at the BFI film awards for his role as a maths prodigy in X + Y, and he has previously played the lead in Ender's Game, Hugo and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Eva Green will play the title character, who acts as a guardian for the orphans.
The film, an adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ bestselling novel of the same name, is produced by 20th Century Fox, and scheduled to start shooting in February 2015.