According to Deadline, Disney has purchased the film rights to Tony Cliff’s graphic novel Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. The book (aimed at ages 12 to 18) follows a sword-wielding Indiana Jones-esque heroine on her journeys and adventures around the world. Disney intends for the project to be a live action film to be produced Roy Lee, Mark Mower and Justin Giritkian.
From Deadline:
For Disney, it seems a no-brainer as it encompasses female empowerment at its best for a worldwide moviegoing audience. Clearly the studio is hoping for a franchise with a female hero — and there is the diversity angle as well as it has a multi-ethnic cast (although Disney has been better than most in that regard, especially with its animated films).
In the novel, which will be adapted for the screen — they are currently looking for writers — the female swashbuckler escapes a Turkish prison and as she does befriends a mild-mannered officer named Selim who becomes her sidekick. The book became a New York Times bestseller in 2013 and was named both A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of 2013 as well as the Best Teen Book of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews.