Nicholas Hoult to play author JD Salinger in upcoming biopic Rebel In The Rye

Mad Max: Fury Road star Nicholas Hoult has been confirmed to be portraying acclaimed American author JD Salinger in the upcoming biographical film, Rebel In The Rye.

It has previously been reported that the film's screenplay has been finalised, having been adapted from the Kenneth Slawenski biography, JD Salinger: A Life. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1's Danny Strong will direct the piece after having completed the script.

The film will depict the life of the secretive author, particularly the time in which he wrote his most famous novel, The Catcher In The Rye. It will also explore his troubled youth, his Second World War experiences and the trials and tribulations from struggling author, to New Yorker journalist to one of the best known writers of all time.

It will be introduced to foreign buyers at the Toronto Film Festival in the next couple of weeks. Black Label Media will finance the project, with Molly Smith, Trent and Thad Luckinbill and Bruce Cohen producing alongside Jason Shuman and Strong.

The 41-year-old film-maker is best known for creating popular music drama Empire as well as penning the scripts for movies such as Game Change and The Butler. Alternatively, he has also had a wide range of acting roles other the years, including a long stint on 1990s supernatural drama Buffy The Vampire Slayer and more recent hit, Mad Men. His next writing credit will be for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, which is scheduled to hit UK cinemas on 20 November.

Hoult also has a string of successful titles to his name including About A Boy, Skins and the X-Men reboots, First Class and Days Of Future Past. He will next be seen in films Kill Your Friends, opposite James Corden and Rosanna Arquette, and Equals, also starring Guy Pearce and Kristen Stewart.