Hopkins, Paltrow, Knightley to star in Shakespeare adaptation.
Keira Knightley will star in a new film adaptation of Shakespearean tragedy King Lear.
She will play Cordelia, the youngest daughter of the King, who will be portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Gwyneth Paltrow is tipped to take the role of Regan, Lear’s treacherous middle daughter. His eldest daughter, Goneril, is yet to be cast.
The $35 million film was announced at the Cannes Film Festival and will feature epic battle sequences, according to its makers.
King Lear, written by Shakespeare in 1605, tells the story of an aging king who intends to divide his land between his three daughters. Vanity corrupts his decision and he refuses to grant land to his favorite daughter when she refuses to overtly pledge her love to him. His other two daughters conspire to keep Lear from exercising royal power and thus begins the tale of betrayal, intrigue, and madness.