Kevin Kline on for dual support roles in Charlie Kaufman's next

Kevin Kline has signed on to appear in dual roles in Charlie Kaufman's next directorial effort, Frank Or Francis , according to a report by Variety .

Far from being a modern take on Ed Wood's Glen Or Glenda , the film centres on online film criticism, but it sounds like a typically inventive, inverted, twisty puzzle of a movie in a vein you could legitimately dub 'Kaufman-esque.'

Jack Black, Steve Carell and Nicolas Cage were previously attached to the project when it was announced a few months back.

Black is playing intelligent internet troll Francis, while Carell will play leftfield filmmaker Frank.

If that casting doesn't sound spot-on enough for you, Cage is lined up to play a hugely successful actor known as The Emcee, famous for high-concept big-hitters like Fat Dad . Oh yes.

And Kline's character? He'll play… well, we're just gonna have to give you the full description from Variety to see what you make of it:

"[ Kline will ] play Richard Waller, the brother of Jonathan Waller, the director of a fictional film titled Hiroshima , the highest-grossing movie of all-time.

"Kline will also play Richard's Head, an animatronic head that, through the use of advanced screenwriting techniques, helps Jonathan develop a completely inoffensive product that will have the broadest possible appeal and zero artistic integrity."

So all in all, the film sounds pretty incredible, doesn't it? And it'll be nice to see Kline back in something must-see (it feels like it has been a while).

Before directing Synecdoche, New York , Kaufman made his wittily intelligent mark with some incredibly memorable scripts, including Being John Malkovich , Adaptation , and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind .

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. 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.