Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) is putting together quite the cast for his upcoming spy comedy Susan Cooper.  Feig wrote the project for Melissa McCarthy to star as a female James Bond-type, and the cast has recently been filled out with Jason Statham and McCarthy’s Bridesmaids co-star Rose Byrne.  Now The Wrap reports that Jude Law is in final negotiations to sign on, marking a shift to a purely comedic role for the actor and a casting coup for the Susan Cooper production.  Hit the jump for more.

Law is no stranger to lighter material like The Holiday and even the Sherlock Holmes franchise, but he’s been branching out into more comedic fare as of late.  He appears in Wes Anderson’s colorful The Grand Budapest Hotel and leads the well-received dark comedy Dom Hemingway, which opens next month.  Susan Cooper marks another step in that direction, and it’ll be interesting to see what the actor brings to a big studio comedy.

Per The Wrap’s report, the nature of Law’s role in Susan Cooper is unknown.  If one surmises Statham plays McCarthy’s partner, Law could feasibly fill the role of the pic’s antagonist; or vice versa.  Susan Cooper is being developed as a potential franchise, so it stands to reason that Law might also return in future films.  Law isn’t exclusively making comedies, though.  The actor leads director Kevin Macdonald’s submarine thriller Black Sea, which hits theaters later this year.  Production on Susan Cooper should begin within the next few months once McCarthy enters hiatus from her TV show.  The film is slated for release on May 22, 2015.