Director Ben Wheatley announced that Tom Hiddleston has joined High-Rise, an adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian sci-fi novel. The Thor: The Dark World actor is the first cast member attached to the long-developing film, although no details were given as to his role.

British producer Jeremy Thomas has attempted to adapt High-Rise for film for more than 30 years. Although the film was nearly made in the 1970s, financing issues led the project to be scrapped. Wheatley was attached to direct a script by Amy Jump in 2013, and Hiddleston's casting continues the forward momentum of the project.

Published in 1975, Ballard's novel takes place in a luxury high-rise building with all the conveniences of modern life -- a school, a supermarket, swimming pools, etc. -- in a microcosm. However, as life in the high-rise begins to degenerate, the amount of violence rises and the tenants divide themselves into lower-, middle-, and upper-classes as indicated by the floor on which they live. The novel explores the de-evolution of human society when isolated from the rest of the world, and the darker side of the human psyche.

Shooting for High-Rise is expected to begin in June.

(via Empire Online)