Charlize Theron starring in comedy for "Juno" duo

LOS ANGELES - The director and writer of "Juno" are set to reunite on a dark comedy that will star Charlize Theron.

"Young Adult" follows a thirtysomething, divorced, young-adult fiction writer (Theron) in Minneapolis who returns to her hometown to chase the ex-boyfriend, who's now married with a kid, that got away.

Jason Reitman will direct the Mandate Films project from a script by Diablo Cody. They struck gold in 2007 with "Juno," which was also backed by Mandate.

The company picked up the "Young Adult" script in March. The involvement of Reitman and Theron was first reported by Deadline.com. Production is set to begin in New York in mid-October.

Reitman last directed "Up in the Air," which went zero for six at the Oscars in February. Theron was briefly in theaters last year with "The Burning Plain" and "The Road." Cody wrote the Megan Fox bomb "Jennifer's Body," which also came out last year.