Hopefully the cover above has dissuaded you from thinking Universal was deigning to adapt the feel-good new age philosophy of the same name*.  Nay, IESB.net reports that Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to Dark Horse Comics’ The Secret under the exclusive three-year partnership the two companies entered into in early 2008.  (They also partnered on the Hellboy franchise and Timecop.)

The four-issue miniseries from 2007 was written by Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson, and visualized by Jason Shawn Alexander, an award-winning artist who’s worked on Abe Sapien, Queen & Country, and The Escapists.  (His official website is pretty badass, and you can check it out here.)

The Secret is a coming-of-age tale that focuses on Tommy, a high schooler who attends an exclusive party with the cool kids in order to get closer to his dream girl.  But then a prank call goes sour…

Currently, writer Scott Milam is attached to write the feature adaptation.  His thriller, Mother’s Day was optioned by Brett Ratner’s Rat Entertainment, and he is currently scripting the horror film Bedlam for RKO Pictures.

*I think that property is slated for Fox’s 2012 schedule, with Nicholas Cage set to star as an explorer who stumbles across a hidden tome in an Egyptian tomb that he badly translates, then transcribes and sells at Borders for $29.99 + tax.