Miley Cyrus – Signed on to star in Wings

Disney has acquired screen rights to the young adult novel “Wings” and will develop the bestselling Aprilynne Pike title as a star vehicle for Miley Cyrus.

Temple Hill partners Marty Bowen and Wick Godfrey will produce. Tish Cyrus will be executive producer.

Like it or not, Miley Cyrus is a star, and even when she leaves Hannah Montana behind for good, we’ll be seeing her pinchable cheeks and country-girl smile for a long, long time. She’s already in the process of starring in her very own Nicholas Sparks weepie, The Last Song.

The adaptation of the young adult novel by the improbably named Aprilynne Pike sees Cyrus set to play Laurel, a 15 year-old who has always been homeschooled but is set to go to school for the first time. While she’s trying to adjust to high school, her suspicion that she’s not like other kids is given a basis when she sprouts wings and discovers she’s a fairy (and really, we can all identify with that).

There’s a love triangle in the book between Laurel, human David and immortal love interest Tamani, meaning that this is likely to aim for somewhere between Cyrus’ traditional teen market and the Twilight audience. The book was published in May and is the first of a planned series, inevitably, so this could become a Miley franchise to replace her current Hannah Montana run.

Disney does well with movies about girls with magical powers (hello, Enchanted!) And there’s nothing wrong with a studio that’s willing to let their star move on from her tween trappings.