Armando Iannucci has been planning to make a new film based on Charles Dickens' David Copperfield for a while now, and with The Death Of Stalin in cinemas, he's tracked down who he wants to play the lead for his next movie: Dev Patel.
The book was published in 1850, and Iannucci has announced that the film will be set in the 1840s, following the author’s semi-autobiographical tale of a lad who faces a terrifying, dismissive stepfather and the death of his mother to grow up and find success in later life.
FilmNation is backing this effort, with Iannucci directing and co-writing alongside regular collaborator Simon Blackwell. As for Patel, he just premiered his directorial debut, short film Home Shopper at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has worked on Hotel Mumbai.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.