The Los Angeles Times is reporting that United Artists has won the battle to license Australian writer John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series of 'young adult' medieval fantasy novels.  The ongoing series of seven novels (an eighth is in the works) about a 15-year-old orphan who becomes an apprentice Ranger and helps to defend his kingdom from both external and internal enemies has been described as The Sword in the Stone meets The Lord of the Rings.  The deal indicates that, although the track record of recent fantasy releases such as Stardust and The Golden Compass is spotty at best, the genre remains attractive for Hollywood studios looking to hit a home run and establish a major franchise.

According to the Times, UA has had discussions with Academy Award winning writer/director Paul Haggis (Crash, In the Valley of Elah) about directing the film, but can't finalize the deal until the writers' strike is over.  Currently UA is negotiating with the WGA on its own, and has come to an agreement with the writers based on the interim deal that David Letterman's Worldwide Pants and the WGA have forged.  Look for other smaller studios such as Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company to follow suit though this doesn't mean the strike is over.