Saoirse Ronan will star in the film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-seller.

Open Road Films has closed a deal for U.S. distribution rights to Saoirse Ronan starrer The Host—based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling novel—and will release the film on March 29, 2013.

It’s the first Open Road Films title to be dated. The distribution company, headed by veteran executive Tom Ortenberg, is a joint venture of AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment.

Director Andrew Niccol is scheduled to begin being shooting The Host in February 2012 in Louisiana and New Mexico from his adapted screenplay.

The Host is about an alien race called Souls which take over Earth, and inhabit the bodies of humans. But when one “wild” human refuses to succumb, she and the alien spirit become unwilling allies and set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

The Host producers are Nick Wechsler, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz and Stephenie Meyer. Marc Butan, Jim Siebel and Inferno Entertainment’s Bill Johnson are executive producers, with Inferno handling international sales.

“I’m thrilled to be adding another fantastic partner to an already amazing group. Everyone involved has so much passion for the project. It really is a dream team,” Meyer said in a statement.

Published in 2008, The Host was No. 1 on New York Times Bestseller List for 26 weeks.

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