Helmer Kevin Macdonald will follow State of Play by directing the Roman military drama The Eagle of the Ninth, reports Variety. Focus Features will distribute the film, set to begin production in August.
Jamie Bell is set to star in the 2nd century A.D. tale, and Channing Tatum is in talks to join him. The script is by Jeremy Brock, who teamed with Macdonald on The Last King of Scotland.
The story revolves around a wounded Roman soldier and his loyal Celtic slave who try to solve the mystery of the Ninth Legion, a brigade of Roman soldiers that vanished after heading into the untamed Highlands of Scotland 15 years earlier.
Bell is set to play the slave, while Tatum has been offered the lead but has not yet committed.
