Ron Howard [Photo: agencies]

Ron Howard is to direct a movie adaptation of the J.P. Delaney thriller "The Girl Before" for Universal.

Universal bought the movie rights to "The Girl Before," a novel due to be published in the fall of 2016.

The story involves a traumatized woman who falls in love with a minimalist house and the man who designed it — only to discover that another woman died at the house three years earlier.

Delaney is believed to a pen name for novelist Tony Strong.

Howard directed Warner Bros.' "In The Heart Of The Sea," which opens on December 11, and Sony's "Da Vinci Code" follow-up "Inferno," which launches October 14, 2016. De Luca is a producer on "Inferno" and Universal's "Fifty Shades of Grey" franchise.

Michael De Luca will produce 'The Girl Before', along with Imagine Entertainment's Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins. Imagine's Tyler Michael will be executive producer and Elishia Holmes will executive produce for Michael De Luca Productions.