Details of the full cast have been announced for John Landis’ Burke And Hare, and if you thought you were excited by the casting of Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis, prepare to do geeky cartwheels at the news that Jessica Hynes, Bill Bailey, Reece Shearsmith and Sir Christopher Lee are all on board.
And it doesn’t even stop there – Tim Curry, Ronnie Corbett, , Hugh Bonneville, David Schofield, Allan Corduner and even Spaced’s own Tyres, AKA Michael Smiley, have signed on.
Based on the real exploits of the two men, Burke And Hare will follow the exploits of Edinburgh-based (but Irish by birth) body snatchers William Burke (Pegg) and William Hare (Serkis) who discover that selling corpses to medical schools is a lucrative business. But when the local supply starts to run dry, they take matters into more dangerous, DIY territory…
Hynes – we’re contractually required to add “nee Stevenson" here – will reunite with her old Spaced co-star for the first time since her Shaun Of The Dead cameo, though she’ll actually be playing Serkis’ long-suffering wife. And Fisher will play an actress who Pegg attempts to woo.
With Landis calling the shots on what he describes as “a very black romantic comedy in the classic tradition of the Ealing Studios' Kind Hearts And Coronets and The Ladykillers”, this could be the geek-pleasing film to beat. Edgar Wright, you are ON NOTICE.