Sir Anthony Hopkins has signed on to play King Lear in a big screen adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy.
The star-studded film will be directed by American writer Joshua Michael Stern and will feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Kiera Knightley who will play the king's three daughters. More big-names will be revealed soon, according to Stern.
"It's going to be really good," he said confidently. "The one thing that I'm staying away from is stunt casting, so there won't be the American comedian, but there will be some really great actors playing smaller roles that will make a lot of sense."
Despite Stern's script writing background, he insists he will not be interfering with the Bard's words.
"I'm not very fond of the modern adaptations," he said. "It's pre-Roman, Celtic, very raw. It's a period in British history, from which (Lord of The Rings author) Tolkien took a lot of his inspiration, where there were thatched-roof roundhouses and fortresses."
Stern also said that Silence Of The Lambs star Hopkins is "thrilled" to be reprising the role he played in David Hare's King Lear production at the National Theatre in London in the 1980s.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in Britain or Ireland early next year.