Elle Fanning to star in 'A Storm in the Stars'

LOS ANGELES, July 31 (UPI) -- Elle Fanning is going back to indie films.

Almost two months after the 16-year-old actress starred opposite Angelina Jolie in Disney's summer blockbuster Maleficent, The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled that she's signed on to play Mary Shelley in Haifaa Al-Mansour's upcoming indie film, A Storm in the Stars.

The romance period drama centers around the love affair of 17-year-old poet Percy Shelley and 17-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft, who eventually writes Frankenstein under the name Mary Shelley.

The script for the film was penned by Emma Jensen and Joannie Burstein, Rebecca Miller will serve as the executive producer on the flick.

"Elle is amazingly smart and talented and very much relates to Mary as a young woman," said producer Amy Baer. "She is going to do something extraordinary in this role that will transition her from a compelling young adult to a formidable leading lady."

The project is currently in the financing stage and filming is expected to begin in 2015.

In addition to Maleficent, Fanning is best known for her roles in We Bought a Zoo, Super 8, Phoebe in Wonderland and Babel.