Michael Fassbender wanted for Alexander Litvinenko biopic Londongrad

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Warner Bros has targeted Michael Fassbender to star in Londongrad , the biopic of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.

According to the report by Deadline , the studio is also in talks with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes director Rupert Wyatt, who's in line to take the helm of the project.

Litvinenko was hospitalised in London in November 2006 after being poisoned with polonium-210, and he later died. From his hospital bed accused Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning, though this has never been proven.

Litvinenko's widow recently won the right for a full public inquest into his death.

Graham King and Johnny Depp (via his Infinitum Nihil production company) are among the producers of the movie.

The Fass hasn't shied away from tough, politically contentious movies in the past (see Hunger , for example) but as he's possible the most sought-after actor working today, it'll be interesting to see what he actually chooses to do next.

If Wyatt signs on, that could delay the Apes sequel that Andy Serkis signed up for just this week.

Fassbender will next be seen in Shame , which opens on 13 January 2012.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.