Sir Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel and James Corden are to star in The Christophers.
The trio are set to feature in the dark comedy from director Steven Soderbergh that will enter production in London in February.
The Christophers tells the story of the estranged children of a once-famous artist who hire a forger to complete his unfinished works in order for them to be discovered and sold after his death.
The script has been written by Ed Solomon, who collaborated with Soderbergh on the 2021 crime thriller No Sudden Move.
The movie will be financed by Department M, run by Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca who are also set to serve as executive producers.
McKellen, 85, has vowed to continue acting despite suffering a nasty fall off the stage during a performance of Player Kings in London’s West End earlier this year.
The X-Men star said: “I shall just keep at it as long as the legs and the lungs and the mind keep working.”
The legend of stage and screen also revealed that he wishes to return as Gandalf in the new Lord of the Rings films that are being directed by Andy Serkis.
Ian told the Big Issue magazine: “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings films shows no sign of abating.
“I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told that there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him.
“When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick.”
In a separate interview with BBC Breakfast, he added: “I’m not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.”
Meanwhile, Soderbergh previously discussed how movies need to have “stars” to survive as it is becoming increasingly more challenging to score a hit at the box office.
Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival in September, he said: “For movies to work, they need movie stars. It’s great if the story is big enough to pull people in on its own, but that’s
hard, and increasingly harder to do … It’s gotten more difficult to quantify what is bringing people to a specific film, and what makes a specific film a hit.”
Soderbergh bluntly added that making “good s***” was the best method of guaranteeing success in the movie industry.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, he added: “At the end of the day, the only solve is good s***. You got to make good s***. You’ve got to focus on that.”
The Ocean’s Eleven director also revealed that he is writing a book about his favourite film Jaws, which analyses Steven Spielberg’s classic from a moviemaking point of view and is aimed at film students and aspiring directors.
He said: “I’ve been working on this thing [the book] that is ostensibly about directing and uses as its spine an analysis of the making of Jaws day-to-day.
“This book is not for general consumption. This is for people who are interested in films, either as moviegoers or who want to do this job. Because if you’re going to do this job, you need to understand the job. This is the job.
“I’m going to walk you through the experience of making it as a jumping-off point to talk about problem-solving and process.”
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