Neil Gaiman to Write 'Lord of the Rings'-Type Epic 'Journey to the West'

After success with adaptations of his novels "Stardust" and "Coraline," Neil Gaiman is moving on to adapting literature that is not his own. In fact, Gaiman's next project will be adapting a Chinese novel that is over 400 years old!

Gaiman has been tapped to write a screenplay adaptation of the Chinese epic "Journey to the West," the tale of a Buddhist monk making a pilgrimmage from China to India in order to recover Buddhist scripture.

It's not as historical as it sounds: the monk travels with mythical figures like the "Monkey King" and battles ogres and other monsters along his journey.

Gaiman believes that the movie will work with Western audiences, as there isn't anything "inherently Chinese" about it. He says he wants it to have a "Lord of the Rings" feel to it, in terms of scope and narrative structure: "We have to do what Peter Jackson did with 'Lord of The Rings,'" said Gaiman.

"We have to make it filmic, non-episodic. This story is in the DNA of 1.5 billion people."

Gaiman has a large following of fans from his string of successful novels like the New York Times Bestseller Anansi Boys, his contributions to the world of comic books including the Sandman series, and his recent films like "Coraline." That should help draw audiences to this film, if the epic scope, martial arts action, and special effects aren't enough.