Tommy Lee Jones has joined the cast of Emperor for director Burr Steers and Exclusive Media Group. We reported earlier this month that Matthew Fox joined the cast.

The project is inspired by the true events surrounding Japan's surrender which ended World War II. Tommy Lee Jones will play General Douglas MacArthur, who was deemed the de facto leader of Japan after their surrender. The story centers on MacArthur, who brings in a Japanese expert, General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) to decide whether Emperor Hirohito should be tried and executed as a war criminal. Fellers is also compromised by his love affair with a Japanese exchange student he previously met in the United States.

Burr Steers is directing Emperor from a screenplay by David Klass and Vera Blasi. Gary Foster is producing alongside Russ Krasnoff, Eugene Nomura, and Yôko Narahashi.

Here's what Gary Foster had to say about Tommy Lee Jones.

"Tommy will bring strength, intelligence, and gravitas to the portrayal of General Douglas MacArthur, a legendary American hero."

Production is slated to begin later this month, on location in Japan and New Zealand.