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While Joel Silver’s Dark Castle label is aiming to close a distribution deal for Vincenzo Natali’s recent film, Splice](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/01/27/review-splice-sundance/), Relativity Media has tapped the director to helm the family adventure flick, Tunnels, with hopes the title will become the first installment in a potential franchise according to Variety](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118015432.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=vertfilm).
Natali is trading Splice’s alluring but deadly human-chimera for a sinister civilization of tunnel dwellers named after the underworld’s most famous river, Styx. Tunnels revolves around 14-year-old Will Burrows who shares a love for the subterranean with his eccentric, archaeologist father. When dad mysteriously disappears, Will starts digging into the mystery. He discovers a secret society trapped in time known as The Colony, who are ruled by the cult-like group, The Styx.
First-time authors, Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, wrote the New York Times best-selling children’s series of the same name, was originally optioned by Relativity back in 2007. Two other books in the series, Deeper](Deeper: Gordon, Roderick, Williams, Brian: 9780545096362: Amazon.com: Books) (published in 2008) and Freefall](Amazon.com: Freefall (Tunnels Book 3): 9780545138772: Roderick Gordon, Brian Williams: Books) (to be published this Spring) are giving producers hope they can franchise the tale in a fashion similar to Tunnels’ publisher Chicken House/Scholastic Inc.'s success story, Harry Potter.