The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy has inked a deal to headline Takashi Miike's awaited stateside debut, the upcoming crime drama The Outsider.

The film is set in a post-World War II Japan and tells the story of a former American soldier, who becomes involved with the Japanese Yakuza.

Takashi Miike is directing from a 2011 Black list script written by Andrew Baldwin. The project is based on an original idea by John Linson, who is also producing with his father Art Linson, Joel Silver, Andrew Rona and Steve Richards.

Tom Hardy is also up for the role of Elton John in Michael Gracey upcoming biographical drama Rocketman.

Production is expected to begin in Japan early next year.