Harrison Ford has found his first film following the incredible success of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” as he has signed on to star in the spy thriller “Official Secrets” alongside Paul Bettany, Natalie Dormer, Martin Freeman and Sir Anthony Hopkins, it was announced Thursday.
Justin Chadwick (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”) will direct the film, which will be produced by Elizabeth Fowler (“Devil’s Knot”). Production is slated to start in May in the U.K.
“Official Secrets” is based on a true story chronicled in the best-selling book “The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War: Katherine Gun and The Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion.”
Written by Sara and Gregory Bernstein and set in the run up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the film stars Dormer as Katharine Gun, a young British intelligence officer who reveals a secret illegal NSA spy operation against the UN Security Council designed to ensure passage of a resolution for war to Martin Bright (Bettany), a reporter at the British newspaper The London Observer. Katharine’s arrest following the leak makes headlines around the world. In an attempt to gain the evidence to free Katharine, Martin unearths the shocking plot which puts both Katharine and Martin’s lives in great jeopardy.
Freeman will be playing Peter Edwards, the foreign affairs editor at The Observer, while Hopkins is playing a retired UK general and Ford a CIA agent.
The Solution Entertainment Group’s Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel are executive producing “Official Secrets” and handling its financing and international sales at the upcoming European Film Market. UTA Independent Film Group packaged the project and represents domestic rights.
Last seen as Vision in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Bettany recently directed the drama “Shelter” starring Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie. His credits include “A Beautiful Mind” and “Margin Call,” and he’ll soon be seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Best known for playing Margaery Tyrell on HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones,” Dormer currently stars in Focus Features’ horror movie “The Forest” and will soon be seen in the Screen Gems thriller “Patient Zero” alongside Stanley Tucci and Matt Smith. She most recently appeared in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.”
Freeman starred on the UK iteration of “The Office” as well as the first season of FX’s “Fargo.” He previously starred as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson‘s “The Hobbit” trilogy and will soon be seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Chadwick recently directed the Weinstein Company’s “Tulip Fever,” which stars Alicia Vikander and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz. His previous credits include the Idris Elba drama “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and “The Other Boleyn Girl” starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana.