WARNER BROS. CRACKS THE CASE WITH AN 'ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN' ADAPTATION

A week after relinquishing the Dumb and Dumber sequel to Universal, Warner Bros. has slapped us with another wave of nostalgia, albeit a more mysterious, less moronic one. 

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Warner Bros. is finalizing its acquisition of the movie rights to an adaptation of the cherished children’s book series, Encyclopedia Brown. With the studio wrapping up negotations, producers Roy Lee and Howard David Deutsch are now searching for writers to turn author Donald J. Sobol's books into a film and hopefully a franchise.

Enclycopedia Brown is a solve-it-yourself mystery series following intelligent boy detective Leroy Brown (a.k.a. "Encyclopedia") as he solves mysteries out of his garage. The late author wrote 28 books for the series from 1963 until his death in 2012, with about 10 different mysteries per book. Each story is littered with clues to help readers solve the mystery followed by an answers section in the back.

Mysteriously, this isn't the first time Warner Bros. has attempted to bring the series to the silver screen: the studio reportedly attempted an adaptation starring Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn in the 1980s. Before then, there were other unsuccessful cracks at a film adaptation, and one short-lived TV series for HBO.

It's a crime that it's taken this many attempts to bring Encyclopedia Brown to life. Will Warner Bros. finally crack the case?