Chris Columbus ("Mrs. Doubtfire," "Harry Potter 1 & 2") is in negotiations direct Fox 2000's adaptation of "The Lightning Thief," the first novel in the best-selling "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" fantasy series by Rick Riordan.

"Thief" centers on a young boy who discovers that he is the descendant of a Greek god and sets out -with the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena - on a dangerous adventure to settle an ongoing battle between the gods.

Along the way, he faces a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. He also must come to terms with a father he has never known and an oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.

No screenwriter is attached yet. "Lightning Thief" has sold more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. and was a New York Times bestseller.