These are busy times for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not long done with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and just announced for the cast of God's Pocket, he'll now also be joining the heavyweight cast of **Child 44, along with Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joel Kinnaman, Paddy Considine and Noomi Rapace.
Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) is directing the adaptation of Tom Rob Smith's bestselling novel. The plot, taking place in the Stalin-era 1950s Soviet Union, involves a police officer investigating a series of child murders. Unravelling the mystery leads him to the higher echelons of the government, where his unwelcome poking around gets him accused of treason.
Hardy has the lead, with Rapace as his conflicted wife and Oldman as the Chief of Police investigating him. Hoffman's role is unclear as yet, and he's joining Child 44 late, since shooting has been underway in Prague for three weeks already. Even if his role is minor, however, it won't necessarily be insignificant. Perhaps thinking about Kevin Spacey in Seven would be relevant...
The film is due out sometime next year, and the novel is published in the UK by Simon & Schuster.