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.”
21 of Harrison Ford's Career-Defining Movies (Photos)
1966: "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round" (Bellhop) - Harrison Ford made his acting debut at age 24 in the crime film starring James Coburn.
Columbia
1973: "American Graffiti" (Bob Falfa) - Ford portrayed a loudmouthed drag racer in the George Lucas-written and -directed coming-of-age tale set in 1962.
Universal
1974: "The Conversation" (Martin Stett) - Francis Ford Coppola wrote, produced and directed the psychological thriller with Ford menacing Gene Hackman's surveillance expert.
Paramount
1977: "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (Han Solo) - Ruggedly handsome Ford led a crew of misfits against the dark forces of Lucas' genre-redefining space opera.
Lucasfilm
1979: "Apocalypse Now" (Colonel Lucas) - Coppola produced and directed this Vietnam update of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" that starred Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall.
United Artists
1980: "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" (Han Solo) - Reprising the role a second time, Ford further charmed moviegoers, helping secure the franchise's venerated place in film history.
Lucasfilm
1981: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Indiana Jones) - Ford proved himself to be franchise gold with his starring role in the adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and executive produced by George Lucas.
Paramount
1982: "Blade Runner" (Rick Deckard) - He appeared as a bounty hunter in the dystopian sci--fi film directed by Ridley Scott. Ford is signed on to appear in the sequel and production is scheduled to begin next summer.
Warner Bros.
1983: "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (Han Solo) - In the third film of the popular series, Han contends with Jabba the Hutt and becomes a rebel general leading an attack on Endor.
Lucasfilm
1984: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (Indiana Jones) - The second installment in the franchise and a prequel to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was also directed by Spielberg.
Paramount
1985: "Witness" (John Book) - Ford's police detective falls in love with an Amish widow (Kelly McGillis) while protecting her son, who witnessed a murder.
Paramount
1988: "Working Girl" (Jack Trainer) - A mergers and acquisitions executive to Melanie Griffith's secretary with a head for business, Ford plunges head-first into the romantic-comedy genre.
Fox
1989: "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (Indiana Jones) - Indy hunts for his father, a Holy Grail scholar (Sean Connery) kidnapped by Nazis. Hilarity ensues.
Paramount
1992: "Patriot Games" (Jack Ryan) - The first of two films portraying a retired CIA analyst dragged reluctantly back into the fray of international intrigue.
Paramount
1993: "The Fugitive" (Dr. Richard Kimble) - The film with the best critical reception of any movie with Ford in the lead, he portrayed a doctor wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and on the run from a dogged U.S. marshal (Tommy Lee Jones).
Warner Bros.
1994: "Clear and Present Danger" (Jack Ryan) - The second film based on Tom Clancy's novels that starred Ford, Ryan uncovers a covert war after being named Acting Deputy Director of the CIA.
Paramount
1997: "Air Force One" (President James Marshall) - The actor is one of the first to portray the U.S. president as an action hero.
Columbia
2000: "What Lies Beneath" (Norman Spencer) - Directed by Robert Zemeckis and costarring Michelle Pfeiffer, this is another Ford film that reinvented a genre: the psychological horror-thriller.
DreamWorks
2008: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (Indiana Jones) - Though taking a few knocks from critics for its outlandish plot, the last in the Indy franchise was his highest-grossing film in its original theatrical run (behind "Star Wars" for lifetime take).
Paramount
2013: "42" (Branch Rickey) - He played Brooklyn Dodgers GM who changed the world of baseball in the 1940s with his recruitment and support of the first black Major League player, icon Jackie Robinson.
Warner Bros.
2014: "The Expendables 3" (Drummer) - Ford portrays a CIA officer and pilot who manages mercenary group the Expendables, who confront an arms dealer (and terrible ratings).
Lionsgate
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1966: "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round" (Bellhop) - Harrison Ford made his acting debut at age 24 in the crime film starring James Coburn.