Toby Jones has lined up a reunion with his Detectorists co-star Mackenzie Crook for a new drama based on real life. Crook is set to make his feature directorial debut with a film titled Mars Express, with Jones attached as the lead.
The pair previously worked together on the beloved BBC sitcom Detectorists, which Crook wrote and created, with Crook starring as Andy Stone and Jones as Lance Stater.
The award-winning British comedy aired on BBC Four from 2014 to 2022 and follows two best friends as they comb the fields of Danebury in search of hidden treasure and a change of fortune.
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In news that will delight fans of the show, the duo are now pairing up again to tell the true story of Colin and Judith Pillinger, whose search for life on Mars took place in the late 1990s (via Screen Daily).
Mars Express will follow the English farming couple, who, with no prior experience, built a spacecraft with the help of a team of misfits, taking on NASA in the process.
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Joe Bone has penned the script, which is based on Colin Pillinger’s book My Life On Mars: The Beagle 2 Diaries.
Big Talk Studios and Altitude are on board to produce the project with BBC Film, which is set to shoot in the UK later this year.
Related: Toby Jones among "unmissable" lineup of stars for BBC's returning Who Do You Think You Are?
For fans of Jones, a recent stage adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello, starring the actor, was made available to watch at home following its run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End.
Directed by Tom Morris with music by PJ Harvey, the stage production sees Jones take on the role of the villainous Iago, with David Harewood starring as Othello. Caitlin FitzGerald stars as Desdemona.
The synopsis reads: "Praised by everyone, Othello has carved a successful career for himself. Until one man's unrestrained jealousy and deceitful manipulation starts a fire that corrodes not only Othello's reputation, but his own sanity as well."
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
