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Cary Fukanaga's adaptation of Jane Eyre and Michael Winterbottom's The Promised Land loaded up their casts today with some very talented actors.  First up, THR reports that Jamie Bell (Defiance), Judi Dench (Nine), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) and Imogen Poots (Me and Orson Wells) are all in negotiations to join Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Hunger) in the adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.

Here's The Hollywood Reporter's rundown of the story and casting: The Gothic tale follows young governess Jane Eyre (Wasikowska), who falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester (Fassbender), but discovers he harbors a dark secret.  Bell will play St. John, a clergyman who turns out to be Eyre's cousin. Dench will play Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper of Thornfield Manor, who disapproves of Eyre's engagement with Rochester.  Hawkins is Mrs. Reed, Eyre's aunt, who adopts her but abuses and neglects her until death.

Hit the jump to learn about the casting and plot for Michael Winterbottom's (24 Hour Party People) next film, The Promised Land.

THR is also reporting that Colin Firth (A Single Man) and Matthew Macfadyen (Frost/Nixon) are joining Jim Sturgess in Winterbottom's political crime thrill The Promised Land.  Winterbottom's most recent film, The Killer Inside Me, generated controversy over its use of violence when it premiered at this year Sundance Film Festival.  THR provides no details about which actors will play what roles, but the logline of the film is that the story is set in British-ruled Palestine at the end of World War II.  This will be screenwriter Laurence Coriat's fourth collaboration with Winterbottom after previously working together on Wonderland, Genova, and the upcoming Seven Days.

While the premise intrigues me, I'm more interested in Firth joining the film as I will be with any film he joins after seeing his remarkable performance in A Single Man.

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