The 39 Clues, a multiplatform adventure series to be launched in the fall by Scholastic Media, is ready for it’s close up on the silver screen — under the helm of Steven Spielberg, no less. His studio, DreamWorks, just bought the film rights, and Variety reports that Spielberg is considering the director’s chair.

Spielberg and Scholastic Media president Deborah Forte will produce the film, based on a 10-book series about the fictitious Cahill family, the most powerful family in the world, which counts Napoleon and Houdini as prominent descendents. Readers discover the source of the family's powers, hidden in 39 clues buried around the world and throughout history.

The first book in the series, "The Maze of Bones," by Rick Riordan, begins with the death of a Cahill matriarch. She changes her will at the last minute and gives her descendants the choice between $1 million or a clue. Young readers who accept the challenge of the Cahill’s will set out on what has been described as a multimedia adventure, including a set of collectible cards and an online game, in which they try to solve a mystery and win a grand prize of $10,000. The contest will run for two years.

Can you smell a franchise in the air?