Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) and Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech) are both in discussions for starring roles in Mike Newell's Great Expectations.

Screenwriter Rowan Joffe is adapting the classic Charles Dickens novel for this new adaptation, which follows a young orphan who suddenly gets a glimpse into a life of luxury, thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Jeremy Irvine is in talks to play the young orphan Pip while Helena Bonham Carter will play the eccentric Miss Havisham if her deal is worked out.

Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley are producing Great Expectations through their Number 9 Films banner. Production is slated to start this fall, with a 2012 release date set to coincide with author Charles Dickens' bi-centenary.

Great Expectations has been adapted numerous times, most recently with director Alfonso Cuarón's Great Expectations in 1998 which starred Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow.