Legendary director Michael Mann is returning to the directors chair.
The auteur, whose hits include the likes of 'Heat,' 'Collateral' and 'The Last Of The Mohicans' has been away from the director's chair since 2015, but the Chicago director will make his grand return with a passion project.
'Ferrari' has been a passion project for the director for over 2 decades, and Mann has cast Adam Driver in the lead role as Enzo Ferrari.
Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz will play Enzo's wife Laura, while 'Big Little Lies' star Shailene Woodley will play Ferrari's mistress.
The 2019 hit 'Ford Versus Ferrari' was reworked from another Ferrari film Mann was working on, with his version originally titled 'Go Like Hell' and starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
Mann retained an Executive Producer credit on the Oscar-winning film, which was eventually directed by James Mangold.
Per Deadline, which broke the story, the film focuses on the creation of the iconic Ferrari company.
The logline for the film tells of "bankruptcy stalking the company Ferrari and his wife, Laura, built from nothing ten years earlier."
"Their tempestuous marriage struggles with the mourning for one son and the acknowledgement of another. He decides to counter his losses by rolling the dice on one race – 1,000 miles across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia."
Mann told Deadline “Being able to have these wonderfully talented artists, actors Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley, bring to life these unique characters on location in Modena and the Emilia-Romagna is a vision fulfilled.”
Adam Fogelson, Chairman of production company STX said the film "is so much more than a story about a man and his machine."
"It is an extraordinary and emotional story that Michael has been developing for years and the entire team at STX is looking forward to the start of production with this dream cast and filmmaker."
"Adam Driver is one of the most talented and fascinating actors working today, and we could not be more thrilled to pair him with Penélope, whose legendary career builds with every role she takes," he added.
Mann will also write the film alongside the late Troy Kennedy Martin, writer of 1969's 'The Italian Job'.
Driver replaced Hugh Jackman in the role of Ferrari, with the Aussie star unable to take part owing to commitments to his Broadway musical 'The Music Man'.
Distribution company STX will handle the release of the film in the United States, while Amazon will get the rights to the hotly-anticipated film internationally, with STX already negotiating with various European cinema chains to carry the film.
The film is due to begin shooting on location in May in Italy.
Mann has been unusually prolific for a director renowned as taking his time with projects, with the director having recently shot the pilot for 'Tokyo Vice' for Apple, and penning a sequel to his 1995 opus 'Heat' in book form.
No word as of yet on a release date for 'Ferrari' with a 2022 release date not entirely out of the question, but 2023 is the most realistic release date for Mann's return to directing.
