The Death and Life of Zac Efron

According to Variety, Zac Efron is in talks to star in an adaptation of the novel, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.

Efron is in negotiations to join director Burr Steers in the adaptation. This will re-team the two after they worked on 17 Again.

The book was written by Good Morning America executive producer Ben Sherwood. It is about a caretaker at a cemetery who manages to have weekly meetings with his younger brother whose accidental death he feels was his fault, according to Variety.

While production is set to begin in July, Steers is signed and currently working on the script. The screenplay was originally written by Craig Pearce, with James Schamus and Lewis Colick also writing up their own drafts.

Although still in negotiations, this will likely be Efron's next project. After recently dropping the Footloose remake, Efron is currently unattached, making the path for his role in this film clear.

Paramount, the studio behind Footloose, is looking for a replacement while trying to maintain its 2010 release schedule. That film has recently had a script rewrite and will have several new songs added.