Jesse Eisenberg has landed the (dual) lead role in Richard Ayoade's indie take on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Double .
Ayoade was probably best known as an actor in The IT Crowd (and as a Total Film columnist, of course) before his astonishing directorial debut Submarine , which arrived earlier this year.
His adaptation of Joe Dunthorne's novel was heartfelt, stylish and immensely cool, and it's fascinating that he's now turning his attention to one of the great novellas of Russian literature.
The Double concerns a man whose life begins to fall apart when a doppelgänger of himself arrives at his office and starts doing his life better than he does, and there is a 'fantastic' tension running throughout (ie is it all in the guy's imagination?)
This project sounds doubly exciting when you consider the casting, as Eisenberg should be a perfect match for the character's nervy sensibilities, as well as Ayoade's offbeat sense of humour.
The Vulture report that revealed this news doesn't go on to elaborate on any details, but we can't wait to find out how Ayoade will tackle the story.
Eisenberg has been a busy chap of late: you'll see him in 30 Minutes Or Less , Free Samples , Predisposed and Woody Allen's The Bop Decameron before The Double .
