The cast for Daniel Espinoza’s Soviet crime thriller Child 44 seems to be rounding out nicely, with The Wrap reporting that Paddy Considine (Submarine, The Bourne Ultimatum) and Fares Fares (Zero Dark Thirty) are likely to join Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and Gary Oldman on the picture. The film’s script was written by Richard Price (Shaft, The Color of Money) and based on a novel by Tom Rob Smith. The story follows a Soviet cop (Hardy) in the 1950s who becomes targeted by the government after investigating the murders of a number of children. Fares is said to be playing an ally of Hardy’s. Considine’s role has not yet been revealed.
Espinoza is probably best known for 2012’s Safe House starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds (Fares, probably not coincidentally, also made an appearance in Safe House), but it is with the producers that most of Child 44‘s behind-the-camera star power lies. The film is being produced by Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer (The Impossible, The Hurt Locker), and Greg Shapiro (Zero Dark Thirty, The Rum Diary). Oscar winner and veteran cinematographer Philippe Rousselot is also on board. Rousselot won the Oscar for his cinematography in A River Runs Through It in 1993 and has more recently been involved Beautiful Creatures and the new Sherlock Holmes films.
Child 44 goes into production next month, so look for a release sometime next year.