Peter Jackson options Temrarie novel series

[Ustauk]

According to Cinescape, Peter Jackson has optioned the rights to the Temeraire novel series by Naomi Novik.  The books are set during the Napoleonic Wars in an alternate timeline where dragon's exist, but there is no magic to speak.  The dragon's serve as the equivalent of an air corp for European nations of the time period.  The books follow a British naval Captain who is forced to leave the naval service and join the air corp when he is bonded to a dragon that hatches from an egg his ship captures from a French cruiser.  By coincidence, I took the trilogy out of the library last week, and have since devoured the first two.  I quite enjoyed the books, and think they have to potential for good movies.  It would take a lot of effects work to pull it off, since you have several major dragon characters as well as large scale dragon battles, but if anyone can do it, WETA can.  Doing a good Smaug for the Hobbit woud be excellent practice for them.  I  guess we'll just have to see if this ever sees the light of day.

EDIT: Qunit of Aint-it-cool-news has an interview with Peter Jackson about this.