British actor Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in and produce the adaptation of the classic British novel “Rogue Male” for Fox Searchlight.

He will produce the project with Lloyd, Levin Branwen Prestwood Smith and Beatriz Levin of Black Sheep Pictures. Also producing it will be Adam Ackland of SunnyMarch, Cumberbatch's production company, reports variety.com.

Michael Lesslie has been hired to write the screenplay for the thriller, which is about a hunter who attempts to assassinate a dictator but is caught, tortured and left for dead. 

When he escapes back home to England, he must hide out in a harsh, rural countryside while enemy agents and the police are in hot pursuit. 

The book was published in 1939 and the author, Geoffrey Household, said the dictator was intended to be a stand-in for Adolf Hitler.