Simon Pegg has signed up to take the lead role in a dark comedy film based on the real-life story of a psychoanalyst investigating claims of a talking mongoose.

The plot for Nandor Fodor And The Talking Mongoose is described as follows: "In 1935, Hungarian-American para-psychologist Nandor Fodor began his investigation of a strange occurrence on the Isle of Man. An average British family, the Irvings, claimed to have been contacted by a mysterious entity at their farm. A talking mongoose. Named Gef [pronounced "Jeff"]."

Pegg will play Fodor - who is known as the father of parapsychology - with Minnie Driver as Anne, his assistant who "journeys with him into uncharted territory." Tim Downie, Paul Kaye, Ruth Connell, Gary Beadle and Drew Moerlin also feature on the cast list.

The film, which is now in production in Leeds, has been written and is directed by the up-and-coming Adam Sigal. His previous projects include 2019 private investigator movie Stakeout.

He told Deadline: "Nandor Fodor And The Talking Mongoose is such a unique story that I couldn't believe it was true. There's nobody else other than Simon who could embody this character and take us on this insane journey and I can't wait to get started."

Future Artists Entertainment, which is also working on Bank Of Dave, is the production company behind the film.

Producer Sasha Yelaun comments: "The reason I love working with Adam is he comes up with fresh ideas and original content, which is rare to find. I see a lot of remakes, this is not one of them and it's exciting to bring amazing stars to the table that feel the same such as Simon and Minnie. I'm excited to see them in action together and watch Adam deliver another cerebral movie that makes you think."

The project is backed by fan-owned company Legion M. Jeff Annison from the company says: "We couldn't be more thrilled to be working with Adam, Simon, and Minnie to bring this wildly imaginative story to the big screen."

In a recent video, Annison was joined by Sigal and associate producer Clare Bateman-King to talk more about the project: