Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Colin Farrell is closing a deal to star with Anthony Hopkins in Solace, the supernatural thriller that Afonso Poyart (Two Rabbits) will direct with production to begin in May. The film will be sold at Berlin by FilmNation’s Glen Basner, and domestic distribution rights are also up for grabs and are being repped by UTA.

The film’s scripted by Sean Bailey, Ted Griffin, James Vanderbilt and Peter Morgan. It has percolating long enough that the film’s first credited writer, Bailey, is currently president of production at Disney. The film originated at New Line but never came together quite right, and producers Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo, Tripp Vinson and Thomas Augsberger. Flynn finally got it back and got the financing through Claudia Bluemhuber’s Silver Reel. Matthias Emcke is exec producer with Bluemhuber, Gerd Schepers and Jacob Pechenik.

An FBI detective seeks the help of a retired and reclusive doctor, to try and solve a series of grisly murders. The doctor was a wiz at the murder game, but lost his mojo when his daughter died tragically. Desperate, the detective presses the doctor to come out of retirement for one more case. Farrell will play the serial killer, putting him mano a mano against Hopkins. That should be fun. They’ve yet to cast the detective.

Farrell, who’s coming off Seven Psychopaths, most recently wrapped the Akiva Goldsman-directed Winter’s Tale. He also was in the John Lee Hancock-directed Saving Mr Banks opposite Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, about Walt Disney’s long courtship of P.L. Travers for the movie rights of Mary Poppins. He next stars in the Liv Ullman-directed Miss Julie, alongside Jessica Chastain. Farrell is repped by CAA. UTA reps Poyart and Hopkins and packaged the film.