If you were a child during the 1990s, chances are that strong that you have at least a passing familiarity with R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book series. After all, with worldwide sales of over 300 million copies, the young adult horror anthology is among the all-time biggest selling children's book series, second only to a certain boy wizard.

So the news that Sony Pictures was developing a feature film based on Stine's novels wasn't exactly surprising. The addition of star Jack Black – who will re-team with his Gulliver's Travels director Rob Letterman for the film – was a bit more unexpected, but now a new announcement has finally begun to flesh out the rest of the cast, giving fans a better idea of the film's tone.

According to The Wrap, Odeya Rush will appear in Goosebumps as Black's niece and the film's female lead, who will team up with her young neighbor to battle monsters. Rush has a number of film and television credits to her name, including The Odd Life of Timothy Green and Curb Your Enthusiasm. She'll next be seen starring with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep in The Giver.

It had already been announced that Black would star as a Stine-line author named Mr. Shivers, whose terrifying creations escape his works and run amok. Considering the fact that Sony will likely position the film as a family adventure, the addition of Rush as a more relatable figure for younger moviegoers makes sense, and the actress's rising profile (she's also set to play the main character in the Biblical epic Mary opposite Ben Kingsley) makes her a wise casting choice.

However, it remains to be seen if a Goosebumps film will manage to cash in on nostalgia for the books and rein in new fans unfamiliar with titles like Monster Blood and Night of the Living Dummy. The franchise's television adaptation – which ran from 1995 to 1998 – played as a sort of Tales from the Crypt for kids, and if screenwriter Darren Lemke nails the tone, there's no reason that the film version couldn't kickstart a franchise of its own, as Sony is undoubtedly hoping.

Will Rush make a good addition to the Goosebumps film, or does the project seem like it's destined to fail? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Goosebumps doesn't currently have a scheduled release date, but stay tuned to Screen Rant for updates on the film as production nears.

Source: The Wrap