Deadline.com is reporting that Sony Pictures has acquired a spec package deal that includes the underlying rights to the IDW Zombies Vs. Robots, and that  JT Petty has used the Ashley Wood/Chris Ryall-created comic as the basis for a spec script called Inherit the Earth.

The film will be a co-production between Platinum Dunes, Circle of Confusion and IDW, and produced by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Dave Alpert and Rick Jacobs. Ted Adams is exec producer.

The plot of the film apparently focuses on a young girl who is the last survivor on earth. She is protected by a group of robots from a pack of zombies that are intelligent and evolved.

To be honest it sounds like the movie isn’t really that heavily based on ZvR, but that the plot is just so similar that I guess Sony’s legal department decided to snap up the rights, to protect themselves from a potential law suit. Interesting…

It should also be noted that back in 2009 Jerry Bruckheimer picked up the rights to related IDW comic, World War Robot, the movie of which is scheduled to be released in 2014. I wouldn’t expect it to see the light of day though, as these studios seem to be going through a craze of optioning movies based on comic properties, at the moment. Very few of them actually seem to make it through development though!

UPDATE: IDW have put out an official press release on this, which I have included below:

IDW’s ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS OPTIONED BY SONY PICTURES
Post-Apocalyptic Comic Series to Be Co-Produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and IDW

IDW Publishing’s popular ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS comic series is headed to Hollywood. The series, which was created by writer and IDW Chief Creative Officer Chris Ryall and artist/painter Ashley Wood and launched in 2006, has been acquired by Sony Pictures.

The film will be a co-production between IDW, Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes, and Circle of Confusion. IDW CEO and co-founder Ted Adams will produce, alongside Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Dave Alpert, and Rick Jacobs.

In the ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS comic series, the last remaining human in the world is protected by an assortment of robots against overwhelming zombie hordes. When the robots mistakenly expose the human infant’s presence to the zombies, it leads to an all-out battle for the survival of mankind. The series takes a playful look at a far-fetched concept, resulting in something that transcends the usual “vs” approach. Subsequent series include Zombies vs Robots vs Amazons, also illustrated by Wood, as well as Zombies vs Robots: Aventure, a series that presented three separate prequel stories. The ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS world also played a major role in IDW’s first-ever event series, INFESTATION, and an all-new ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS series subtitled “UnderCity,” with art by Mark Torres, launches in April.

THE COMPLETE ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS is now available as both a hardcover graphic novel ($29.99, ISBN 978-1-60010-809-9) and a trade paperback ($19.99, ISBN 978-1-60010-328-5). - Buy from Amazon for $13.59

ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS: ADVENTURE is now available as an oversized hardcover graphic novel ($24.99, 10″ x 13″, ISBN 1-60010-717-7). - Buy from Amazon for $18.24.

ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS: UNDERCITY #1 (of 4, $3.99, 32 pages) will be available in comic stores in April. Diamond order code FEB11 0315.

Related posts:

1. ‘Zombies Vs. Robots’ Returns to IDW in April
2. Lionsgate Acquires the U.S. And Canadian Rights to Kick-Ass Movie
3. Mandalay Pictures Picks up the Rights to Mark Sable’s Unthinkable
4. Paramount Pictures Picks up the Rights to Existence 2.0
5. 20th Century Fox Acquires Screen Rights to Mark Millar’s Nemesis