Universal Pictures has picked up the film rights to the late Robert Jordan's “The Wheel of Time” novel series with a seven-figure deal to bring the books to the screen starting with "The Eye of the World."

Variety reports the film be produced by Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon for Red Eagle Entertainment - which also brought graphic novel adaptations of Jordan's books to store shelves.

"The Wheel of Time" has dozens of characters and follows Rand al’Thor - the latest version of "The Dragon." Rand has a destiny to fight the evil character Shai’tan.

The "Wheel of Time" series have sold more than 44 million copies worldwide and have branched out into computer, trading-card and role-playing games. The series also has a soundtrack, comic adaptations, and fan sites. The four most recent releases in the series reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

The series was optioned before – such as when NBC had the rights to make a miniseries based out of "The Eye of the World."

Jordan died in 2007 at the age of 58. The final book in the series is scheduled to hit store shelves in the fall of 2009 with fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson penning the conclusion based on Jordan’s plans detailed on notes and tapes.