"The Host" News: Saoirse Ronan to Play Melanie Stryder

From LATimesBlogs.LATimes.com:

"Hanna" star Saoirse Ronan has been cast in the big-screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's adult sci-fi love story "The Host."

Ronan will play Melanie Stryder, a 20-year-old human girl whose mind is invaded by a parasitic alien, MTV reported. Ronan, 17, may have to be aged a bit for the Inferno Entertainment production, which is currently without a director. Former director Susanna White recently pulled out of the project, written by Andrew Niccol of "The Truman Show."

Ronan, who starred in "The Lovely Bones" and was nominated for an Oscar for "Atonement," will have to play a role within a role as her character's body hosts the invading "soul" named Wanderer.

Sorry "Twi-hards" -- no vampires, werewolves or Edward Cullen in this Meyer series, but bookworms say it packs the same heart-melting punch.

The "Twilight" author's "The Host," on bookshelves since 2008, follows Bella-like lead Melanie as the soul probes her thoughts and she fights against it with visions of Jared, the love of her life, one of the few humans in hiding who have not yet been invaded by the parasite. Eventually, Wanderer begins to yearn for Jared, whom she was sent to seek out. A love triangle ensues -- involving only two bodies instead of three -- then host and Wanderer set out to find Jared and ultimately deal with the love they simultaneously feel.