Angry Birds set for the big screen

An Angry Birds movie is on the cards with the announcement that former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel has been recruited as a special adviser by Rovio,  the company that developed the popular mobile phone game.

"There has been so much chatter about an Angry Birds movie, but it's now real," Maisel told the film trade magazine Variety today. "The process is starting now."

Maisel, who was responsible for developing blobkbuster hits such as Iron Man in his time at Marvel, said he was interested in the "emotional connection" that players have with the Angry Birds characters.

The aim of the game, which hit 250 million downloads last month, is to use a catapult to fire birds at the evil pigs who have stolen the Angry Birds’ eggs.