Ender’s Game sputtered out and he didn’t land the role of Marvel’s new Spider-Man, so Asa Butterfield’s latest stab at franchise immortality will come in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Based on a best-selling novel by Ransom Riggs, the premise is sort of a Tim Burton spin on the X-Men, with a house of strange and quirkily gifted children who live apart from society that doesn’t understand their abilities. And, yes, if this movie is a hit, Riggs has already written two Miss Peregrine sequels, Hollow City and Library of Souls, that could be come future movies. In other words, there’s nothing peculiar about Hollywood’s interest in this material.

For those who haven’t read Riggs books, here’s the full official plot synopsis:

From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, Jake realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies. Jake must figure out who is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is.

Butterfield, who also played the title role in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, is a good young actor. He was very solid in Ender’s Game, even if the movie didn’t entirely come together. Maybe a collaboration with Burton, who’s made some very good movies about troubled outsiders and teens, is what he needs to move to the next level of his career. (And on an unrelated note, Eva Green is amazing, and seemingly the perfect star for a Tim Burton movie.) Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children opens in theaters on September 30.

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