Idris Elba has signed onto play Dr. Alex Cross in David Twohy's upcoming adaptation of James Patterson's popular murder mystery novel entitled Cross. This news comes from Dateline, who report that Elba will be taking over the role from Morgan Freeman, who played Cross in both 1997's Kiss the Girls and 2001's Along Came A Spider.

The story finds the sleuthing Dr. Cross taking on a serial rapist who may have murdered Alex's pregnant wife years before. The tagline of the book reads, "Alex Cross faces the deadliest psychopath of them all...His wife's killer!"

The film is set to begin shooting in the spring of 2011, with Lloyd Levin, Leopoldo Goutm, and Steve Bowen producing. Possibly for Paramount.