Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Spiderwick Chronicles) will direct Blood Sisters as the first feature installment of the “Vampire Academy” fantasy series for financiers Reliance Entertainment and IM Global, says Varierty.

Zoey Deutch (Beautiful Creatures), pictured, and Australian thesp Lucy Fry have been signed to play the lead characters Rose and Lissa while Russian actor Danila Kozlovski will play the role of Dimitri.

The series is set at St. Vladimir’s Academy in the Montana forests, centers on Rose Hathaway, a 17-year-old female “dhampir” — a half human/half vampire and a guardian of the Moroi race of peaceful mortal vampires. She must deal with the intricacies of the Moroi social order and the Strigoi, a race of bloodthirsty immortal vampires and predators of the Moroi.

The script for “Blood Sisters,” based on the first book in Richelle Mead’s series of books, was written by the director’s brother, Dan Waters (Heathers, Batman Returns). Producers plan to start lensing in the early summer.

The six “Vampire Academy” books have sold over 8 million copies in 35 countries. The last four — “Shadow Kiss,” “Blood Promise,” “Spirit Bound,” “Last Sacrifice” — are on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Story in “Blood Sisters” is set at a strict school for vampires designed to retain their humanity.

Producers are Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, Michael Preger, and Deepak Nayar of Kintop Pictures with IM Global CEO Stuart Ford exec producing. IM Global will be handling foreign sales in Berlin.