AceShowbiz -

Vanessa Hudgens is about to take "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island". The 21-year-old actress is currently in final negotiations to play the female lead in this follow-up to "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D", The Hollywood Reporter (THR) has just reported.

The sequel has tapped Josh Hutcherson to reprise his role as Sean who this time will force his mother's boyfriend, portrayed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, to join him on a trip to a mythical and monstrous island to find his missing grandfather. According to THR, Hudgens will portray a Pacific Islander who gets swept into the adventure and end up falling for Sean.

Brad Peyton is set to direct the action fantasy film with the script loosely based on Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island". Production is expected to be kicked off in late October in North Carolina and Hawaii. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" will also be shot in 3-D like the first film and is aimed for fall 2011 release.

Vanessa Hudgens, who raised to fame through her performance in "High School Musical", stars in Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" which is slated to come out in the U.S. on March 25, 2011. He also has a lead role in "Beastly" which release date has been pushed back to March 18, 2011.