Jonathan Tucker has been tapped to star in The Ruins, DreamWorks' adaptation of the best-selling Scott B. Smith novel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Tucker will star as Jeff, a go-getter premed student, in the thriller about a group of friends whose leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when Jeff persuades them to accompany a fellow tourist on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins.

Smith wrote the screenplay and principal photography will begin in late May in Queensland, Australia.

The Ruins was released April 4th, 2008 and stars Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore, Joe Anderson, Sergio Calderón, Jesse Ramirez, Balder Moreno. The film is directed by Carter Smith.