Selena Gomez To Star In '13 Reasons Why'

Selena Gomez is one of Disney's hottest television stars, and now she's looking to become a bona fide movie star. She made her big-screen debut last year in the Beverly Cleary adaptation "Ramona and Beezus" and co-stars alongside "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester and "Glee" star Cory Monteith in this summer's "Monte Carlo". Now Deadline.com is reporting that she's lined up her next role.

Universal Studios is developing Jay Asher's young adult novel "13 Reasons Why" into a starring vehicle for Gomez. It will be her first time as the lead actress in a film, though rumor has it she'll have plenty of backup help.

The novel follows a shy California high school student named Clay Jensen who comes home to find a box sitting on his doorstep. In it he discovers seven cassette tapes sent to him by his late crush, Hannah Baker, who recently committed suicide. She meant for the tapes, which explain the 13 reasons why she took her life, to be sent around chain-letter style to the 12 people who played a role in her death.

Gomez will play Hannah, but the roles of Clay and the other people who contributed to her suicide have yet to be cast. Logan Lerman is rumored to be up for the part of Clay, but considering that he's attached to the young adult novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," those rumors might be unfounded.

When MTV caught up with Gomez at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards, she talked about how excited she was to have her first feature film hit the big screen. She said that she cried when she saw the trailer for "Ramona and Beezus."

"Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved the movie voice guy going, 'And Selena Gomez,' " she shared. "So I had a heart attack and I started crying. It was my first theatrical trailer."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.