Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has cast Michael Keaton in his latest film "The Birdman."
The director is currently in pre-production for his first comedy. The film is about a has-been actor (Keaton), famous for playing a superhero who now attempts to star in a Broadway play based on the Raymond Carver short story "The Birdman". Keaton played Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 and 1992 incarnations of the DC superhero.
The film will also star Naomi Watts as an actress in the play while Emma Stone will be Keaton's daughter, fresh from rehab and now his assistant. Zach Galifianakis will also star as the producer of the play.
Stone is currently shooting "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and is attached to star in Guillermo del Toro's "Crimson Peak." Stone will next star in "The Croods".
Watts reunites with Inarritu with whom she worked with on "21 Grams" and earned an Oscar nomination for. She comes off her second nomination for "The Impossible" and will next be seen in "Diana."
Galifianakis next reprises his breakout role as Alan in "The Hangover Part III." He was last seen in "The Campaign" with Will Ferrell. Keaton recently wrapped MGM's remake of "Robocop."
Inarritu last directed "Biutiful" which was nominated for the Oscar for Best foreign Film and Best Actor for Javier Bardem. The director also helmed "Babel" for which he received his first Oscar nomination.
Inarritu co-wrote the script with Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo. He is producing with Robert Graf and John Lesher.
The film is set to start shooting in April.