Zack Snyder will direct Guardians of Ga'Hoole, an animated feature film for Village Roadshow and Warner Bros, Variety reports.

Based on Kathryn Lasky's series of children's books, the movie is set in the Forest of Tyto where a peaceful kingdom of Barn Owls find themselves under threat from evil forces.

The film has been fast-tracked and will likely bow in 2009 or 2010. The screenplay comes from John Orloff and John Collee.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is Snyder's first animated film. He recently directed 300 for Warner Bros and is currently in post-production on the comic book adaptation Watchmen.